Naruto
by WordOfTheDay
Summary: AU: Naruto is unable to become a ninja and his hopes are shattered. 12 years later, an appearance from Uchiha Itachi changes everything; having all of Konoha's secrets dumped into your brain tends to do that kind of thing. --not a xover-- R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto

Chapter 1: The Beginning

The compound was destroyed. The buildings were on fire. Dead bodies were strewn all over the floor and at the center of the carnage stood one figure. Sasuke ran towards the cloaked man screaming in fury. He unsheathed his ninjatō and charged it with his chakra. He shunshined behind his target and swung his sword.

The man turned and stopped the blade with two fingers and whispered. "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu."

Sasuke was enveloped within the flames but was quickly replaced by a log. He shunshined back towards the cloaked figure and released the electricity charged within his sword. He scored a direct hit upon the small of the man's back but his victory was short lived as the man disappeared in a smoky puff. Sasuke turned around to search for his enemy but as soon as he turned his head, a hand grabbed onto his face.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." The man said, "Kanashibari no Jutsu."

Sasuke fell to the ground in a stiff heap and yelled. "You won't get away with this Itachi! I'll kill you! I'll get you even if I die!!"

"Please do Sasuke… please do." Itachi turned his back to Sasuke and jumped into the night.

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Itachi ran into the center of ANBU headquarters, leaving many mutilated bodies in his wake. Itachi was bleeding profusely but he refused to give up. He had a mission, and would stop at nothing to accomplish it.

One last challenge stood in his way. Itachi sighed and began centering himself for the battle to come.

"So Itachi, it comes to this huh?" Shisui murmured. Itachi nodded. "Well, let's make it one to remember. You were always stronger than me, but you're wounded and spent. Bring it on Itachi."

Itachi began flashing through hand signs and said, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu." The fires burst from Itachi's mouth and sped towards Shisui at blinding speeds. Shisui pulled out his ninjatō and cut the flames in two as he dashed at Itachi in an attempt to end the fight.

Itachi, with a tear rolling down his face, flipped through more signs and breaking his normally calm demeanor yelled, "Chidori!"

The sound of birds chirping filled the chamber and a loud squelching sound could be heard as Itachi's hand was rammed through Shisui's chest. "I'm so sorry Shisui. Forgive me."

He looked up into the eyes of his best friend as he saw the life departing Shisui's body. He felt a change in his eyes and he realized that he had acquired the Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi pulled his arm out and caught Shisui's body before it hit the ground and carefully laid him out.

Itachi looked up and continued on his way. After intense minutes of searching, he found what he had been looking for. He activated his Sharingan, turned on the computer and scanned every single document within the database. It was all logged into Itachi's brain at the end. Itachi placed explosive notes all around the chamber and left the building. In his wake, the entire building blew up and collapsed. Itachi prepared one last jutsu and jumped off into the night.

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The lights inside the store called "Ryuzo's Armory" shut off and on the inside, Naruto walked up the stairs into his own apartment. Naruto turned the lights on in his room and his eyes quickly scanned the area for disturbances. His eyes came to rest upon a small picture of himself from when he was five. That was twelve years ago, and the happy go lucky smile that was present upon the little child reminded him of the days from the Ninja Academy. Those days were gone now and Naruto now owned his own weapon shop as a civilian. God knew how he hated that word.

Naruto reset the traps at his door and went to bed. He looked outside of his window to stare at the stars when he heard a beeping from his bedside computer. There was an intruder.

The blonde grabbed his special kunai set from beside his desk and prepared for another drunk that probably planned on getting lucky and killing the demon container. The traps went off but still his computer told him that the intruder was alive and moving closer to Naruto's position.

'Must be a shinobi.' Naruto thought, 'No normal person could've avoided my traps.'

Naruto steeled himself and tried to bring to memory his self-defense classes from years past. Only one layer of traps separated him from the intruder and Naruto thought that this was the end.

'My chakra coils are shot to hell and I haven't had hand to hand combat in over 5 years. Even Kyuubi can't get me out of this one.'

The last five traps were sprung and the dull thud of weapons piercing skin floated through the door. The door creaked open and the intruder stumbled through with various swords and kunai sticking out of his body from Naruto's numerous traps. Naruto sent a kunai towards the man's head, hoping to kill him but a hand shot up and pulled it out of the air. The man's head lifted and all Naruto could see were red eyes with a pinwheel spinning rapidly in the middle.

'Mangekyou Sharingan. Uchiha Itachi.' The knowledge flew through Naruto's brain as he processed the sight in front of him. He was held frozen as Itachi slowly approached him and Itachi pulled up two bloody fingers and tapped Naruto's forehead. The last words Naruto heard before darkness overwhelmed him was: "I'm sorry."

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Sasuke stood outside the weapon shop and radioed, "The target went inside a building, Ryuzo's Armory, and he might have an accomplice in there or he might be restocking on weapons. Requesting backup."

The response he got was heartening, "Yamanaka Ino on the way. Hold your position."

Sasuke could hear brief sounds of conflict. 'Maybe the owner is putting up a fight, but against Itachi, he doesn't stand a chance.'

He hated to admit it, but if he was forced to go one on one with his brother, he would lose as well. But with Ino, his partner, they stood a good chance of subduing the rogue ninja. He snapped out of his reverie when a tap on his shoulder indicated the arrival of his girlfriend/partner.

"Let's do this." He smiled and they both entered the weapon shop. The inside of the store was what you could expect from a weapon store, and they slowly advanced, wary of attack. Sasuke scanned the room with his Sharingan on full blast. He saw no chakra residue, no signs of struggle, and no sign of Itachi. They arrived at the doorway leading upstairs and they both noticed the sprung traps.

'_There's no weapons lying around from the traps, he must've been hit.'_ Ino signed to Sasuke. _'There's a good chance that he's very injured judging by the placement of them.'_

Sasuke nodded his assent and they both walked up the stairs. The sight that met them was not something they would've expected in a hundred years. Itachi was lying dead on the ground, weapons protruding from his still body from every direction. It seemed as if the traps had done their job to perfection. But what was even more surprising was the security system within the room. Computer monitors had surveillance around the whole village and there was a wall of photos with shinobi and civilians alike. Sasuke approached the wall and noticed something.

"These guys are all dead; they were executed for breaking… rule… 37B." Sasuke mumbled.

"37B? What's that?" Ino asked, "I've never heard of it before. What classification is it?"

"I believe that it's Top Secret. Eyes only, I've only heard of it spoken about in whispers, I never actually knew what it was though."

A figure stood up in the corner of the room. Sasuke and Ino spun to face the new threat.

"37B, formed on October 11, the day right after the Kyuubi attacked and was… killed." The figure spoke, "It concerned the status of one of Konoha's citizens, effectively blocking his birth record and his parental record so as to not bring unwanted attention upon the child."

"Who are you, and how do you know Top Secret government information?" Sasuke asked. He slowly unsheathed his ninjato as Ino began to do the same.

"Me? I'm just a _civilian_." He spat out the last word. "An ex-ninja if you could even consider me that."

"Then explain how you know Top Secret government information." Ino advanced slowly towards the figure. "Explain it to me now or I will be forced to kill you."

"I don't know how I know." The figure stepped out of darkness into the bright light from the LCD screens around them. "I'm just a guy trying to stay alive, trying to make a life for myself."

Naruto stumbled forward toward them. "I don't know what happened to me! He came," and Naruto pointed at Itachi. "Told me he was sorry, touched my forehead and I blacked out. Now I feel the weight of the entire fucking world on my shoulders, I know things that I shouldn't know and all this information is just running through my head."

Sasuke stepped up and faced Naruto. He signed to Ino behind his back, _'I think that Itachi stole the government secrets and planted them inside this guy's head. That's what he was after; he broke into ANBU HQ and destroyed the database.'_

He then took off his ANBU black ops mask and looked Naruto in the face. Naruto stared back and he suddenly blurted out: "Uchiha Sasuke. Hunter Nin Assassination Division. 17 years old. Second prodigy of the Uchiha Clan. Specializes in fire ninjutsu. Supposed lover of mmfph…"

Sasuke smothered Naruto's mouth with his hand. "That's enough."

"Who are you?" Ino took the initiative. "Did you have any connection to Itachi?"

"My name…is…Naruto. And no, I never knew him." Naruto looked at her with red eyes and paused for a while. "I'm so tired."

And with that he fell to the floor.

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A tall robed figure stood by a window and said. "Who is he?"

Sasuke replied. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, a civilian weapons maker. He seems to have no connection with Itachi and is unaware as to the extent of his situation."

The man spoke again, "Uzumaki Naruto… find out everything there is to know about him."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" Sasuke then shunshined out of the room.

'Naruto… what are we going to do now?' The Hokage took a long draw of his pipe. 'It's been so long hasn't it?'

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'Such a plooshy bed… such comfortable pillows… boy my room rocks!' Naruto sat up and stretched his arms out and gave a big smile. His smile quickly faded as he opened his eyes and looked around his 'room'.

'The hell? Isn't this the… hospital?' The events of the night before flooded his mind and he lay back down onto his bed. 'So it wasn't a dream…'

"No, it wasn't a dream Uzumaki-san." Naruto spun to face another blonde.

Recognition flashed in his eyes. "You… Yamanaka Ino. The ninja from last night."

"Do you know what happened to you Uzumaki-san?" Ino asked.

"No. I don't and I need someone to explain it to me just about right now. I have a life and a store to take care of and I can't have crap like this happening to me. My head feels ridiculously full and every time I see something, a bunch of information just pops up and tells me everything."

Ino sighed. "We have a team trying to find out what happened to you, and if you wait a little bit we'll have an expert come and try to explain it."

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The aftermath of Itachi's rampage left a completely ravaged ANBU HQ, a damaged ANBU unit, and a destroyed database containing the secrets of Konoha. Civilians and shinobi alike wandered the streets and examined the effect of their second strongest going berserk.

The Hokage called all people together for a public announcement and began speaking.

"Last night, there was an atrocity committed by one of Konoha's finest. What caused this to happen is still under investigation. The complete damage assessment is still unclear but it seems that the entire Uchiha clan compound was leveled and many of the clan members were killed. He turned upon his own ANBU squad and killed them. All of their names shall be placed upon the monument to honor their sacrifice. So many were cut down before their prime and their lives stopped short before they got to experience true life. I express my deepest condolences and we will do our best to prevent something like this from ever happening again."

'I'm getting too old for this.' Tears fell into his wrinkles and they followed the path set by them all the way down till they dropped off of his face. Sarutobi was a shinobi well out of his best days and he felt all of his years upon his shoulders at that moment. It seemed as if one problem was stacked upon another.

'Now unto Naruto, the last casualty in this violent incident.' The third Hokage pulled out a file and flipped it open.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Born: October 10

Status: Civilian*

*Academy dropout due to disruption of chakra coils

------------------37B----------------

The Hokage then cut his thumb and rubbed it across the paper. The page changed and turned into:

Name: Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto

Born: October 10

Status: Civilian*

Other Notable Facts: Son of the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina. Container of the nine tailed beast the Kyuubi. Uzumaki Naruto is known to have photographic memory and an IQ of 158. Genius level person with borderline paranoia.

*Due to Kyuubi's presence Naruto's chakra coils were unable to adapt and grow properly resulting in an inability to use chakra. Medical attention could fix the problem. See Tsunade.

Many other little tidbits of information were scattered across the page but none were noteworthy enough to examine again. The Hokage began to change the paper accordingly. He had received a briefing on the status of Naruto after last night's events.

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Flashback

"_Uzumaki Naruto contains all of the information that was destroyed from the database. It seems that his brain was able to retain the information that was passed unto him by Itachi. Other effects of this memory passing are unknown and only time will tell what the long term effects are. He seems to have a computer-like brain now and whenever something that was in the database is shown to him, he can instantly tell you what it is, its purpose, and other noteworthy facts about it. He is now a highly valued asset and we cannot let Root find out about this." The ANBU captain finished his report._

_The Hokage turned around in his chair and thanked the captain. He needed to think this over more. 'Damn it Minato! I'm not supposed to be doing this right now! I should be enjoying sweet retirement surrounded by beautiful women! He's your son after all isn't he?'_

_But there was no response. Of course, Minato was dead and had been for the past 17 years. The Hokage sighed and pulled out his pipe. It would help him think clearly._

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Naruto lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He had undergone a battery of tests that day and there seemed to be no end to the probing and analyzing of his brain. He had known he was smarter than others all along, even when he was little, but he always hid it, nobody needed to know that. He remembered everything, all the events that had ever happened to him, big or small, he had looked it up a long time ago and they called it 'Photographic memory'.

The door opened but Naruto didn't want to face the next examiner. He was sick of this; he just wanted his life back, his normal boring life.

"Naruto." The voice said. "It's me, don't you remember?"

"How could I not?" Naruto replied. "You're the old man."

Naruto turned on his side and smiled at the wrinkled Hokage sitting next to his bed.

"Who would've ever thought that something like this could happen to me huh?" Naruto asked, "I thought all that intrigue and spy shit was over when we figured out that my chakra coils were FUBAR."

"I didn't see this coming either Naruto and I'm here to explain what happened to you and what you're going to do now." The Hokage took a deep breath and began his explanation.

"Naruto, what I'm going to tell you is something that only a select few know. Currently, we are at war." Naruto's eyebrows shot up in confusion, to his knowledge no declarations had been made and all the countries put up a semblance of peace. "Not a war with another land, but within ourselves. It is a secret war and it has been waged for a little over a decade now. But just now has it escalated to unexpected heights. Itachi's rogue mission was a mission that was commissioned by me."

At this Naruto sat up. "Wait, so you made this happen to me?"

"No, you weren't supposed to happen, that was an on the fly thing that Itachi did. But the database that Itachi destroyed was the objective. We are fighting a secret organization that has sprouted within our own ANBU and is being led by Danzo. They desire for all of Konoha to become a militant nation and to spread our influence by force over the entire continent and to conquer all of our enemies. But we all know that this plan will lead Konoha down and eventually to its death. He has recruited many of our young ANBU operatives and convinced them that ROOT is right. They almost took the database, which contains all of Konoha's military secrets as well as military plans and safeguards. If they took that they could take over all of Konoha overnight."

"And so what does this have to do with me? Itachi destroyed the database."

"He put the database into your head. He had seen your file somewhere and figured out that your brain was the only one that could handle the entire database. This would protect the information from being lost, quite a smart move by him too."

Through gritted teeth Naruto growled. "Get to the point old man, what happens to me?"

"We need you to save Konoha."

'Fuck.'

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	2. Chapter 2

Naruto

Chapter 2: Sai

The bell rung as it announced the entrance of another customer. Naruto looked up from the counter to view his next potential buyer as the man scanned the weapons on the walls and in the glass cases.

"Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?" Naruto asked.

The man looked up; he was no older than Naruto himself but carried with him the grace and poise of a seasoned warrior. He gave a disarming smile and Naruto felt at ease, a friendly face it seemed.

"I need a standard set of kunai, shuriken, and explosive notes." He replied, looking around the shop, "I'm also new around here and I need someone to help me to get to know the district better. Do you know anyone who could help me?"

Naruto looked up at a small camera in the top front corner of his store and gave a slight nod of his head. His handlers, Sasuke and Ino would understand. He would be under tight surveillance but business was slow and he was always willing to lend a hand to someone in need.

"Sure, I'll help you. Let me close shop for a second and I'll be right out." While bagging the man's new kunai set he asked, "So what's your name?"

"Sai."

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'Sai? What's he doing here?' Sasuke thought, hiding his surprise from Ino.

His blonde partner turned to him and said, "Well, let's get moving shall we?"

The Uchiha put on a smile and nodded.

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Flashback

"_Sasuke, Ino. You two are my most trusted team and I'm putting you in charge of watching Uzumaki. So far nobody should know of his new identity as the database, but we can't take chances. Tail him wherever he goes. From what I've heard, he has his own security system in his room. Use that, with his permission, and watch him as he conducts business and keep him safe. He is an invaluable asset to our war against Root."_

"_Hai Hokage-sama." They both replied in unison. _

"_I'm putting full confidence in you two. Don't let me down."_

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For tailing a person, protocol required that one ninja remain at least 20 yards behind the target and the other 20 yards in front to protect from attacks. Sasuke took the rear and Ino moved towards point. They would be unseen.

The raven haired teen saw Naruto chatting amiably with his customer and was playing the part of tour guide to perfection. It seemed as if Naruto had been starved of friendship and took the first chance he had. The only strange thing was Sai, Sasuke was sure that Sai was a Ne operative.

According to the psychoanalysis of Naruto, the man was borderline paranoid but still had an open personality. Quite the conundrum. As the Hokage said, nobody outside of the Hokage's trusted few knew of Naruto's condition, so why Sai's interest in the asset now?

He would discuss this further with Ino. His musing would have to come to an end when he almost ran straight into a wall.

'Shit.'

Sasuke gathered himself and kept going, it seemed as though the pair had stopped to eat at a café. Naruto had pulled a kunai out and was showing Sai the finer aspects of the creation of the standard ninja weapon. The asset seemed to put a lot of heart into his work.

He radioed Ino, "Anything going on at your end?"

"No. I've placed a bug on Naruto's collar so I'm recording everything that's going on. We'll examine it later. He's really a funny guy, this Uzumaki."

"You aren't thinking about leaving me now are you Ino? I can do _way_ more things than the asset can every hope to dream of." Sasuke left the implication hanging as he imagined his girlfriend blushing.

"Can it hornball, they're on the move again."

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"Taichou, I'm here to report my findings."

Sasuke turned to face the soldier, "Go ahead."

"Doing research and asking around about the subject has led us to find out about the asset's friends, family, and hobbies. He has a few civilian friends as well as a friendship with the Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru. Many of the shinobi are acquainted with the asset from past business transactions and from past memories with him. From our records, he has no living family and as for hobbies, he's well… a weapons maker."

"Excellent job, burn the paper." Sasuke commanded.

The ANBU was stunned, "W-what? Sir, this is valuable intel that our team has gathered, we can't just throw it away."

The raven haired ANBU commander rose to his full height. "Are you disobeying orders? There's a reason why I'm the commander, care to find out? Now think about this bird brain. The _asset_ is top secret. We cannot have _any_ documentation recorded about him because if that falls into the wrong hand, imagine the consequences. National security is severely threatened just because one dumbshit tried to think for himself. You're a soldier, you _obey_. Soldiers aren't paid to think. Commanders are. And when idiots try to think, they fuck things up."

"Yes sir." The man accepted the rebuke and proceeded to incinerate the folder. Once the job was done he shunshined out of the room, but little did both of them know, Naruto had the entire city bugged and wired.

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'So I'm that valuable huh?' Naruto thought, 'How can I use this for myself?'

At that moment, Ino and Sasuke strolled into the room. "Naruto, we need you to come with us."

"Oh we do, do we?" Naruto asked, looking at both of them. "I didn't know that that was how it went. From what I hear," he turned on the recording, "_you,_" he pointed at Sasuke, "need _me._"

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, "So what are you saying? You're going to blatantly disregard our orders? We're here on behalf of the Hokage, on behalf of the entire village."

"Yea. What do I care what happens to the village? If Konoha goes to war, I _benefit_ stupid! I'm a fucking weapons manufacturer."

Ino and Sasuke were stunned; neither of them had seen this coming. "So unless I get something out of this," he waved his arm out at the two, "then I don't need to cooperate with anything."

The Uchiha snapped, "Shut up. You know what? I'm sick of this." He pulled out a kunai, "Unless you cooperate with us, I'll kill you. How about that? Finding any benefit now?"

Naruto snorted, "Kill me? Are you stupid? Didn't you hear anything that came out of _your_ mouth? I'm the ASSET."

He stood up and left.

Sasuke stood there speechless and Ino had a small grin on her face. "I believe that you just got told off _twice_ by a civilian in a span of oh…" she checked her watch, "…five minutes."

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Naruto was at his computer, designing new weapons and imagining new ways of creating the ones he already had. A small beep alerted him to the fact that Yamanaka was on her way to the store.

'Well, at least she's pretty!' Naruto smiled, turned in his chair to face the door.

The door opened and the platinum blonde strode through. "Look Naruto, I'm sorry about Sasuke. He just has a short temper and he's not the most diplomatic of people."

"Obviously…" muttered Naruto.

"Naruto, the fact is, you're right, we need you. I'm really sorry that any of this had to happen to you and we're doing our best to make it easier for you. You wanted to know what benefit there was for you? You're the database of Konoha. You're brain is the most valuable thing that we have! We're currently working on two projects right now. First, using you to root out Root," at this Naruto laughed, "And second, to try to extract the database."

When the words left her mouth Naruto sat straight up in his chair. "Are you saying that there's a possibility of me becoming… normal again?" 'Though I've never been normal, thanks to Kyuubi…'

The hope in his eyes was evident and it moved Ino. "Yeah, we're trying to fix the problem that we caused."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have people to meet." Naruto rose from his seat, nodded to her, and left.

"Wait." At this Naruto spun around.

"Are you meeting with Sai?" asked Ino.

"Yea, why?" responded Naruto, suspicious.

The girl sighed, "Just be careful, you're the asset after all." She beamed at him and Naruto had no choice but to smile back.

'Damn pretty girls.' thought Naruto.

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Two Months Later

Naruto had gotten used to the feeling of being watched because in fact, he _was_ being watched. If he turned his head fast enough, he could see a glimpse of black or blonde moving quickly away. He had found a good friend in Sai and Sai began hanging out with Naruto and Naruto's friends.

Sasuke and Ino's suspicion began to die down as the bugs that they planted on Naruto turned up nothing compromising. Things were too quiet, despite the fact that they were only protecting a civilian. The raven haired commander was beginning to itch for action.

Sai approached Naruto, "Naruto, can I talk to you for a second?"

Naruto excused himself from his friends, "What is it Sai?"

"I found something interesting over here that you might like." replied Sai.

While Naruto walked, Sai looked into the sky and examined the area around him.

'Their vigilance has dropped. Now is my chance.'

"So Naruto, I noticed, but you've been followed for like the past two months."

"You noticed huh?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I am a shinobi after all, so is this normal for you?"

"Yeah…" but before he could keep talking Sai reached over and grabbed Naruto's collar.

"WOAH!" Naruto scrambled backwards. "Buddy, I don't swing that way!"

Sai smacked his own forehead. "Sorry Naruto didn't mean to come on like that." Sai motioned with himself to look under his collar.

The blonde did as Sai motioned, and to his surprise, a small wire had been planted where Naruto had not noticed before. Naruto's eyes narrowed, he grabbed the bug and crushed it.

"It seems that they don't trust you. What's up?" Sai asked.

Naruto looked carefully around, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure Naruto, you know me." Sai was getting closer. 'My moment of triumph is near, my suspicions will be confirmed.'

"You know that day when Uchiha Itachi went on that rampage?" Naruto spoke, and after a while wrapped it up, "So now I'm a government asset."

Sai sat there with wide eyes, 'I thought something was up, but this is way beyond my imagination.'

"Wow… that's quite the story…" Sai muttered.

Naruto looked downcast, "So you don't believe me huh?"

The Sasuke look-alike caught himself quickly, "Not at all! It's just… WOW… shocking you know?"

"Yeah, that'd probably be my response too." Naruto smiled up at him.

Sai gave himself a mental pat on the back, another close shave with suspicion. Now his next move was a problem, should he report to Root now? Or to continue solo and take him out now, for time was of the essence.

He pointed into the sky, "Do you see that Naruto? You'll have to concentrate really hard."

Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion in the direction that Sai had pointed. "Err… I don't see anything Sai." He turned just as Sai finished his set of seals. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu."

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Ino threw her headset down. "We lost the wire on Naruto."

Looking at his partner he replied, "Where's the last place we got a reading on his location?"

"Ummm… 5 miles east of our location, it was from an open field… Training ground… 7! Let's go!"

They both grabbed their gear and sped out the door. Leaping from housetops they signed to each other, '_Think this is Sai?'_

'_Yeah… I've had my suspicions, we let our guard down. What was the last thing that was heard over the wire?'_

'_I have it recorded into my radio; I'll send it to you.'_

Sasuke listened to the recording, "WOAH! Buddy, I don't swing that way!"

"Sorry Naruto, didn't mean to come on like that."

'So Sai tried to… touch… Naruto?' Sasuke's eyes widened, 'So Sai told Naruto about the wire. It's been around 4 minutes since the last transmission. With an unconscious Naruto, Sai could've moved anywhere within a two mile radius.'

On his radio Sasuke called into the HQ, "This is Operative Black Raven, calling for a 2 mile freeze on coordinates 0073-8745."

"Black Raven, your request is being processed, we need the code." The operator replied.

Sasuke quickly answered, "BR-19446"

"Affirmative, you have the freeze, agents are on their way."

Sasuke cut the link and spoke to Ino, "We got a two mile freeze on Sai's last location. He either has a hideout somewhere nearby or is reporting to a base. We have to catch him fast."

"Wilco Black Raven." replied Ino, strictly business.

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Sai threw Naruto's limp body over his shoulder and began to go to the safehouse he had about a mile away. Judging by ANBU protocol, they would throw a two mile net around the area, starting from the outside in, so he would have that extra mile time, as well as the head-start.

The underground safehouse should be able to connect him to Root HQ but if the area freeze blocked off the route it would be stocked enough that Sai would be able to hold off until other Root Operatives came to his rescue.

At that moment Naruto recovered from his paralysis. He didn't struggle, fight, or even try to persuade Sai into letting him go. He realized the futility of it all. After all, he was just a civilian, and Sai was a trained killer.

Naruto could only do one thing. "Why?" The blonde captive asked.

"Because I was ordered to, you can't possibly think that I _wanted_ to be your friend, do you? I'm a Root operative and you're just a dumb civilian. Grow up Naruto, you can't trust anybody, especially your handlers. Root has operatives _everywhere_." Sai's mind flicked to an image of somebody.

The blue eyed teen just hung there on Sai's shoulder as he was taken further away from his home. 'Maybe they'll save me…' He thought.

They arrived at a tree and Sai punched the center of the tree and a stairway opened up below them. Sai tossed Naruto unceremoniously down the stairs as he closed the door behind them. The black haired boy formed seals and locked the door.

'The freeze shouldn't be able to penetrate more than 10 meters so the underground passage should be safe.'

Sai picked Naruto up again and continued on his way. He reached a big antechamber opened a secret cabinet and strapped up. He put on a cloth mask over his head and then put a helmet on top. It covered everything but his eyes and he strapped on body armor that covered his chest and back. He put on leather bracers, shin guards and thigh protectors. He covered everything with an ANBU outfit and carefully set his mask on his face.

He turned towards Naruto, who was immediately frightened at the change in the man he thought had become his friend. As a finishing touch Sai slung a ninjato and a wakizashi on his back.

"I don't know if you've become close to your handlers, but if it comes down to it, I'm going to kill them." Sai's voice sounded hollow behind the mask.

Naruto immediately thought of Ino. 'Hmph… hope he doesn't kill the pretty one…'

His thoughts were cut off as Sai grabbed the asset and slung him over his shoulder. Sai began running down a long corridor.

'Have to make it to the extraction point.' And as soon as Sai got to a certain point in the tunnel, he opened a small panel on the wall and held a button.

"Identification please?" The automated response asked.

Sai put his eye to the scanner and a small light turned green. "Yes Agent 0079, what is it that you want?"

This time a human voice was speaking.

"Requesting extraction point at area 8-0053. My ETA is 3 minutes and 42 seconds. If I don't show up, leave immediately and destroy the extraction point. Clock starting… now." Sai shut the panel and placed an explosive tag on it. He sent a burst of chakra into it and began running.

The sound of the explosion reached them when they were a safe distance away. Sai was panting and checking his watch.

'Still have about a minute left. Not much farther.'

Naruto had been eyeing the distance they had come from the makeshift armory and judged that they had traveled the better part of a mile.

Calculations and thoughts were racing through Naruto's head as he realized that his life wasn't quite over.

'The largest freeze radius is two miles, if I tapped into ANBU regulations correctly, and the radius is where my last transmission came from which means that since we've been traveling due south for the entire time, the freeze should come up in… 27.5 feet. I don't know where the extraction point is, but I'm sure it's not 30 feet away; otherwise I'd be gone, whisked away to some torture chamber.' Naruto smiled.

Sai began running again, 38 seconds left. He charged his feet with chakra and began sprinting the last stretch till the extraction point. He could see the bending light that signaled the agent waiting for him. 'Mission success.'

His elation was cut short as he realized that the shimmering light wasn't the waiting agent. It was the freeze.

"Fuck." Sai turned around wildly looking for another way to go through, but the ANBU technology geeks weren't called geniuses for nothing. He saw the other agent just arrive at the extraction point and waved frantically for the man to do something.

The other agent saw Sai and was confused, until he realized that the freeze had caught Sai on the other side. He thought about whether to try to rescue his comrade but he had been given orders. If he doesn't arrive in 7 seconds, I blow this place to hell and get out of here.

When it became evident that Sai wasn't coming, the agent began placing C4 all over the hollowed area. He looked at Sai and shook his head and signed to him, '_Get out of here before ANBU does. If they catch you, they have ways of making you talk.'_

Sai shook his head no fervently, pointing to his burden frantically and pleading with his eyes, begging to let him go.

The other agent sighed, signed that he was sorry and left. Charging his muscles with chakra he jumped out of the area and pressed the detonation button. The extraction point disappeared in a fiery inferno. Sai realized the hopelessness of his situation and turned to face his fate. He tied Naruto up in front of the freeze and set up traps all along the tunnel.

'I can hold them off. It takes at least 10 people to set up the freeze barrier.' (Imagine the shishienjin that was set up by the Sound Four when the Third died). 'Which means that there are about 4 other ANBU operatives waiting to fight me, not to mention Naruto's handlers Sasuke and Ino.'

He sensed 6 chakra signatures enter the corridor that would lead to him and he heard each of his traps going off. Some were disarmed but he was sure that he could hear at least two of the ANBU members go down.

'Makes my job a little bit easier…' Sai thought, but still, his job was hard enough.

A yell of, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" and the fire balls destroyed many of the traps that remained. Before the ANBU ops could get any closer, Sai took the initiative and grabbed Naruto as a hostage.

"Don't move any closer." And immediately all of them stopped.

Sai pulled a syringe from out of his pouch and held it up against Naruto's neck. "If any of you makes a move against me, I will inject him with the poison. He will die instantly."

Sai began approaching the group and the strike force got a clear view of the syringe pressed against Naruto's neck. He put his back to the wall and slid to the other side of the corridor and began talking again.

"You will release the freeze barrier and let me free with my little friend," and he nodded towards his hostage, "if not, he dies, and we all realize just how valuable our asset is right?"

While he was talking, Ino looked straight at Naruto, and Naruto caught her gaze. Using her innate mental bloodline she sent a message straight into his head.

'_Do you trust me? I'm going to kill him. Don't freak out.'_

Naruto's eyes said it all. Yes, go ahead, just get me out of here.

Ino smiled a bit and began speaking, "Go ahead Sai, if that's really your name. Kill him. I dare you. I bet Danzo wouldn't be too happy with you destroying Konoha's database now would he?"

"Danzo knows nothing." Sai replied smirking at Ino.

Ino smiled back, "Then I'll kill him." She pulled her arm back and released the senbon that she had been holding. It struck true and hit Naruto's neck. The surprise was evident on his face as well as on everyone else's. Naruto's body went limp in Sai's arms and in his surprise, he dropped him.

Everyone else just stood there in shock as one of their own members just killed the asset they had been sent to protect. Sai was shocked as well, how could a girl just kill her objective in cold blood?

Sasuke broke out of their stupor first and charged towards Sai and attacked him. Sai, noticing the attack, regained his senses and began to fight back.

"Guys, take the asset and leave! I'll take care of Sai." shouted Sasuke.

Ino swept up Naruto's body and led the rest of the team out of the tunnel. It was best to leave Sasuke alone when he fought, things tended to get messy. Once everyone had left, Sasuke immediately stopped his assault. Sai did the same.

"Sasuke-kun, why are you doing this?"

"I can't let the others know that I'm part of Root now can I? I have to kill you to prove it, but I'll burn all of your documents so as to protect the secrets. It's all for the greater good right, Sai? I'm sure you would understand." Sasuke smiled at him.

Sai just stood there, "Yes Sasuke-kun, go ahead. For the greater good."

He raised his head as Sasuke yelled, "Chidori!"

The last thing he saw was a flash of blue, and the last thing he heard was the sound of thousands of chirping birds.

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Up above, the ANBU confronted Ino. "What the hell was that?"

With an innocent smile, Ino walked over to the dead body of Naruto and pulled out the needle.

"False death of course, standard ANBU procedure during hostage situations. Haven't you read the handbook?" Ino laughed as she walked away.

Naruto's body began to shudder and twitch as it restarted its normal bodily functions. Blood flow restarted and he awoke from the near death state that he had been in. He stood up shakily and he flopped back onto the ground.

'Don't freak out my ass.' thought Naruto as he passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto

Chapter 3: Discoveries

**A/N: Hi, before any of you go on, let me make a few comments about the story. I don't do authors notes very much so when they do show up, they're going to be kind of important. Many of you have noticed the similarities between Naruto and the TV show Chuck. You have noticed correctly. But don't worry about this turning into a direct movement of Chuck into the Narutoverse, it's going to change I promise, give it about two more chapters and that's where the similarities will end. I just thought that Chuck would be a good background for my story, and it was. Thanks for taking your time and reading this. If you have any questions about the story, feel free to PM me or leave a review. Enjoy!**

**-WordOfTheDay**

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5 Years Ago

Unknown Location

Danzo walked up onto a large podium in an underground cavern. Seated before him were the three hundred hand selected first members of Root. Behind these were the thousand or so new recruits, but all were just as deadly as the other. Danzo's knees shook slightly in excitement.

"My people," began Danzo "welcome to Root. This will be a day that you will always remember, for this is the day, we begin to liberate and save our country Konoha."

The arena was quiet, the Root operatives sat there in silence. This was just how they were trained, and Danzo felt elation within his chest at the sight.

"You will go back to your lives after this, and nobody shall know of your secret liberation double life. They will all live the unwitting, stupid lives they lived before, and their eyes will be opened on the Day of Life. You will be given assignments through various methods, but never through direct contact with another Root member. You may never see each other again, but remember, they are your brothers in arms. Look to your left," Each Root member looked to his left, "now look to your right," The Root operatives did as they were told. "Remember their faces, because one day, that face might depend on you, to do the greater good."

"You will do anything, anything in your power to prevent detection by outside meddling forces. You may even be approached by these same people, and asked to join. Join them. If the time comes where you have to kill your brother to avoid suspicion, smile, and tell them that it's for the greater good. For no matter how you die, as long as it's for the greater good, you life will not go in vain. You will be forever remembered in the hearts of your comrades and in my heart as well." Danzo began to sweat profusely; the heat of the moment was upon him.

"Stand my patriots! Rise! Repeat what I say!" At this the entire cavern shook with the movement of thousands of soldiers. "For the greater good!"

The great booming sound of thousands of voices in uniform sent vibrations running all along the walls and ceiling, "FOR THE GREATER GOOD!"

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Present Day

Konoha

Sasuke woke up when cold water was splashed on his face. 'Fucking ANBU torture practice?'

"Time to wake up hotshot." And there stood Ino, wearing nothing but her bra and panties, holding a bucket that 2 seconds ago, was filled with ice cold water.

He grinned blearily up at her and replied, "Looks like you're not too sore from last night."

The blonde winked at him and walked out of the room, shaking her hips in a seductive manner. Sasuke could do nothing but stare.

A voice floated from outside of the room, "Quit pitching your damn tent and let's move! We're late for work."

The raven haired commander looked down and noticed that indeed, his soldier was giving the salute. Blushing furiously, he showered and left.

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Hokage's Office

Sasuke and Ino stood in front of the Hokage's desk as the chair had its back turned towards them.

"Uchiha-san, report!" came the voice from beyond the chair.

"During my battle with the rogue ninja codenamed Sai, I let things get out of hand and accidentally destroyed the documents that he had been carrying. It was due to a misplaced Katon jutsu that, due to some freak cosmic disaster, caused nothing but his pouch to be burned off. This has never happened before and I'm positive it will never happen again. Please forgive me Hokage-sama." Sasuke bowed low in the direction of the Hokage.

"I understand Uchiha-san, you are dismissed. Yamanaka-san, I would like you to stay."

Sasuke gave Ino a quick smile and left the room to stand in the hallway to wait for his partner.

The Hokage turned in his chair to face her, "Yamanaka-san, see to it that this type of 'accident' doesn't repeat itself." His face was serious and it was obvious that he suspected something.

"Hokage-sama, I believe that Sasuke-ku—err… Uchiha-san's accident was truly a mistake. I don't know why Hokage-sama is distrusting of the commander but I feel 100% sure that he is loyal to Konoha. I will work hard to prove Uchiha-san's loyalty to the village." Ino bowed, her face red, and left.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his chair, looking in the direction that both had left. 'I know he's loyal to Konoha, but to which side of Konoha he lies on is my question. But I should trust Yamanaka-san's judgment, best not to wrongly accuse your ANBU commander, right?'

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Ryuzo's Weapons

Naruto looked up from his counter and saw a ninja walk into the store. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a normal ninja, standard outfit, chuunin vest, and a ninjato on his back. He approached the counter and asked Naruto a question.

"Hi, I got picked for a demolitions mission, I was wondering if you had any C4 and explosive tags?"

Naruto replied, "Yes in fact I do, but first do you have any ID? Mission papers?"

As this was standard procedure, the ninja nodded in assent and gave Naruto the required paperwork. Everything checked out.

The blonde weapons crafter returned the papers and entered the back of the shop. From there he asked, "How much do you need?"

The ninja, still at the counter, replied, "I need about 35 kilos of C4 and probably 40 explosive tags."

'35 kilos of C4? That's enough to blow two faces off the Hokage monument! What's he trying to blow up?'

Naruto returned with the goods and asked innocently, "That's quite a bit of firepower, what mission is it?"

The ninja showed Naruto the paper, "Yeah, we have to blow up a secret weapons cache that Kusa planted somewhere near our borders."

Naruto quickly scanned the mission paper, and a name caught his eye. 'Aihara Jun?' Something in his mind clicked on the name; the blonde returned the packet.

"Well, good luck!" He smiled and the ninja left with his goods.

The blue eyed jinchuuriki ran upstairs into his room and sat at his desk. He turned on his computer and tapped into the government database. Of course, the government knew nothing about his ability to steal and alter information. He typed in Aihara Jun into the database and he came up with a mission report. The man was dead.

Naruto quickly closed his store and stayed in his room. He found Ino and Sasuke's radio frequency and hijacked it.

"Where the hell are you two? Aren't you providing surveillance on me?" angrily whispered Naruto.

Back at the ANBU HQ Sasuke shot up out of his chair, he replied, "What are you doing on my radio frequency? This is classified information."

The blonde responded, "Nevermind how I got on your radio, get over here now!" Naruto closed the communication with Sasuke and leaned back in his chair. Within a minute, Sasuke and Ino appeared in his room. Naruto turned and glared at them.

"You know what? You two aren't giving me a very good reason to continue trusting you. First, you're supposed be my handlers and protectors, but then you lose me when I got tricked by Sai. Admittedly, breaking the wire was my fault, but doesn't that make you think you should be watching me closer? All you've done is move farther away! Second, how shitty is your intel network anyways? A man just walked into my store with a fake ID, fake mission papers and got clearance to buy 35 kilos of C4."

Sasuke looked back with narrowed eyes, "How do you know they were fake?"

"Because something in my head just clicked on his name, which then prompted me to do some research, check yourself, Aihara Jun."

The ANBU turned away and looked at the various things on Naruto's wall, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"For an ANBU commander, you're kind of dumb. I'm not a ninja; get it through your thick skull. Had I tried, I would've been dead within seconds. Now how much help would I be then?"

Sasuke was fuming and took a step towards Naruto, but before he could move any farther, Ino stepped between them.

"Now this isn't the time to be fighting, Naruto just got some valuable intel on what could be a Root attack. We need to tell Hokage-sama." said Ino.

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Hokage's Office

"Hey old man."

At this the 'old man' looked up from his paperwork and smiled. 'Ah, Naruto.'

Behind Naruto were the two ANBU operatives Sasuke and Ino.

"What is it?" asked the Hokage.

Ino looked at Sasuke, and then stepped forward. "We have gotten intel from Naruto that someone under a fake name just bought heavy explosives for a mission that doesn't exist. We think that it's a Root mission aimed at destroying an important building within Konoha."

The Hokage looked at Naruto and said, "Tell me everything about the conversation."

Naruto nodded then began, "He mentioned something about destroying a Kusa Armory near Konoha's border. I've had time to think about it, and with the intel that was dumped into my head by Itachi, Konoha's Armory is near the border as well, its listed as a key Root target from my knowledge as well."

Before the Hokage could speak, Sasuke started talking too, "Hokage-sama, I request that I be allowed to take ANBU squad 12 with me to eliminate the threat and to protect the Armory."

Sarutobi shook his head a replied, "We can't do that, the Armory is protected by a genjutsu that can only be deactivated by a passcode that's inside Naruto's head." All eyes in the room landed squarely on Naruto's head.

"That means… Naruto's going to have to go with us?" Ino asked.

"And that also means no other ANBU operatives can go. The progression of trust about him," he pointed at Naruto, "ends with you two."

They bowed and left.

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Sasuke and Ino both geared up for the coming battle, without a squad to back them up they would have to be even more careful than usual, especially because the asset had to tag along. Sasuke thought for a moment, grabbed what seemed like two bamboo poles tied together and slung it around his back.

Sasuke turned to Ino, "I'll take care of the explosives guy and you make sure Naruto stays safe. I'd rather you not see what I do the guy."

Meanwhile, Ino had been suiting up Naruto, who would need protection just incase the Root operative tries to attack him. Naruto got standard ANBU armor, with headgear and a sword. When Sasuke saw the asset, he cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"We can't make it obvious that Naruto isn't ANBU, so we have to dress him just like us." Ino responded to Sasuke's questioning gaze. "Otherwise he'll realize that Naruto's the weakest link, and take him out first."

It was good reasoning, and Sasuke could do nothing but agree. "Ino, you and Naruto go ahead, I have to check up on something back here, I'll catch up real soon."

Ino tapped Naruto's head as a signal to move out. They both set off in the direction of the Armory. When thinking about the armory and the code, Naruto's head began pulling up blueprints and maps of the area in a 3-D representation.

"Yamanaka-san, it seems that Uchiha Itachi implanted in my head a map of Konoha. I can figure out the fastest way to get there. I'm sure Uchiha Sasuke-san already knows this way so we can assume he'll go the way we went."

The two went down the street and Naruto paused for a second. He pointed towards a sewage grate and pulled it up. Making sure nobody else was around to see, he and Ino jumped into the hole.

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Sasuke was pacing the floor. What should he do? He had known that the Armory would be a target, but hadn't included into his calculations the genjutsu protection around it. He had no choice but to contact his comrade.

He pulled up a secret file within his personal computer and found out who was on which assignment. Danzo had trusted him specifically with this document, a symbol of trust but the feeling was not reciprocated. Sasuke was wary about dealing with him and he was ready to betray Danzo at the drop of a dime.

Breaking into coded frequencies, he finally was able to talk to his fellow Root agent. "There are two bogies headed your way. Female ANBU black op agent and a…" he thought of what to say, "… another male ANBU agent. Watch out."

"Wilco." And the line was cut. Presumably never to be opened again.

He darted out the door to try to discern the direction that his partner had gone in with the asset. He decided to go the way that he knew best, a straight line through the forest. He took a deep breath and began jumping through the forest to reach the Armory and catch up with the blondes.

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Naruto and Ino were walking through the sewers when Naruto blurted out, "How old are you?"

'…'

'…'

An awkward silence hung between the two until Ino replied, "I'm 17."

"Oh."

The silence continued until Naruto pointed upwards to signify the exit. Ino boosted him with her hands and he popped the sewage grate out and climbed out with it. He then lent a hand to help pull Ino out as well.

When the sewage grate was put back in its place they advanced slowly to where Naruto said was the safest spot before the genjutsu barrier.

"Do you know where the deactivation panel is?" asked Ino.

Naruto thought for a second, he had to pull up the map again and mentally move it around. "Found it. Wait here and I'll go punch in the code."

He approached a small metal panel that was hidden behind some foliage. Naruto opened it and entered the security code that would unlock the barrier. In an instant, the area changed. Gone was the peaceful woodland setting and it was replaced by a large nondescript concrete building. He scrambled back to where Ino was and both of them moved in.

The Root operative was using meisai gakure no jutsu and was watching them the entire way. 'So these were the bogies that Sasuke told me of. They only send two ANBU's to take me on? I'll show them.'

He narrowed his eyes and flung two kunai at the back of each of his enemy's heads. Without missing a step Naruto spun around, unsheathed his two swords and blocked all four kunai in an instant.

'A skilled kenjutsu user. Interesting.'

Meanwhile Naruto was staring at his hands wondering, 'What the hell just happened?'

Both were on their guard now that they had been attacked. While both of them were scanning the area for their unseen opponent, vines shot out of the ground to capture them both. Ino was able to leap away but Naruto, without the use of chakra, could do nothing. But as before, his blades seemed to have a mind of their own as Naruto used them flawlessly, weaving and cutting through the vines until he escaped the technique.

Naruto leaped into the air doing a perfect front flip and when he landed, the vine behind him fell into pieces. Behind his mask Naruto's eyes were wild but he willed his body not to show his surprise. The Root operative decided to step the notch up a bit. Deeming it time to pressure the swordsman into making a mistake, he decided to make himself known. He stepped out into the sunlight clapping.

"Very well done, you've impressed me. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." He smirked and charged at Naruto, but before he reached his target, he leaped over Naruto and in a single fluid motion pulled a kunai out and threw it at the base of Naruto's neck. Once again, Naruto moved and slapped the kunai away with the flat of his blade.

His opponent flipped through hand signs and yelled out, "Doton: Dotonidoryo!"

The ball of dirt flew towards Naruto and this time, whatever was moving him barely got him out in time. Naruto was beginning to get the hang of this as the movements became implanted within his muscles. He didn't know where it was coming from, but he was thankful nonetheless.

He charged forwards at the Root operative but due to his lack of chakra enhanced speed, his enemy easily escaped. 'This is strange, the ANBU has the skill of a kenjutsu master, but his speed… sucks. He also hasn't used any sword dances yet. Strange indeed.'

Silently whispering, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He sent his clone down to stave off the swordsman's attacks for a little longer. Lost in his musings he was interrupted when he heard a voice behind him.

"Boo." He turned and saw the second ANBU, and he was instantly frozen.

'She got me with Kanashibari.' Luckily for him, Ino only had a moment to prepare the jutsu and botched it. The effects would wear off before he hit the ground.

As the paralysis disappeared, he reached behind him, grabbed four shuriken and threw them at Ino; it would buy him some time to recover. The distraction worked and he flipped to land lightly on his feet. This was becoming a problem, the C4 was set to go off in 4 minutes and he had to get these two killed before then, or at least place them in the blast radius. He decided to go with the latter as he sprinted in the direction of the armory, and at that moment, Sasuke decided to show up.

With a smirk of someone arriving fashionably late Sasuke entered the fray in full blast. Sasuke had unwittingly played right into Root's hands.

"Naruto, Ino, go in and defuse the bomb! I'll take care of this guy." Sasuke shouted. He looked at his comrade and gave him a knowing nod.

The two put on an amazingly real fake fight. It convinced the two leaving that Sasuke was trying his hardest to stop the traitor and they entered the building with the feeling that their mission was accomplished. The doors shut behind them but the duo paid it no mind, they were going to get rid of the C4 anyways. Naruto busily got to work on the explosives and was halfway through defusing it when he paused. Ino turned to him and said, "What's wrong? Hurry up! You've got," she looked at the timer, "a minute and a half left. You can do it." She gave him a pat on the back with a smile. "I believe in you."

"It's not that I'm not trying Yamanaka-san. It's that I can't." He looked at her with sad eyes. "He rigged them so that if it's ever defused, it would explode."

'It was an utterly foolproof plan. That's why he led us here.' Naruto thought.

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Sasuke stopped fighting with his comrade when the doors shut his teammate and the asset inside. He looked towards his 'enemy'.

"You know they're toast." The man blandly stated.

Sasuke looked perplexed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the doors lock from the outside and I rigged those explosives to go at the slightest provocation." At this Sasuke's eyes widened. He couldn't let this happen, his cover would be blown.

The ANBU commander quickly replied, "You have to get me in there, I can't have my cover blown! The Sandaime already suspects me of treason."

"You haven't gotten emotionally attached to your cover story have you? We all know that endangers the mission, which endangers the entire operation and could bring everything down. Danzo-sama would be displeased."

"No! It's not like that! It's for the greater good." Sasuke thought frantically, what excuse would convince the Root operative to let him in? "Danzo-sama gave me a mission. He wants me to turn Yamanaka Ino, that ANBU agent, into a double agent for us. She has the ear of the Hokage, and with her on our team, the possibilities are limitless."

The other agent stood there pondering away the precious seconds Sasuke had left. He couldn't let them die. He would be killed for treason! "Fuck you and your thinking! It's for the fucking greater good! There is no higher reason than that!"

He ran towards the building and the double doors that signified the entrance. He screamed, "CHIDORI!" and the jutsu tore through the double reinforced steel doors that locked his lifeline inside. Stumbling in through the doorway Sasuke looked around for his partner and saw her comforting Naruto in the center of the room. He saw her petting Naruto's head as his face was buried in her arms. Shaking his sentimentality away he headed towards the two. His sharingan activated, he noticed the red digital clock that counted down the seconds.

5…

Sasuke reached around his back.

4…

He grabbed the cross of bamboo that was there.

3…

The ANBU yelled, "Chakra no Tate!"1 and began to throw the cross.

2…

Ino looked up and saw the spinning object flying towards her.

1…

Sasuke shunshined out of the building, trusting their lives with his technique.

0.

The explosion rocked the forest. Split seconds before the explosion had gone off he had yelled, "Doton: Doryuheki!" and just as expected the wall of earth protected him from the explosion. He could only hope that his chakra shield had done the same for the blonde duo.

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The Root operative was long gone, his mission accomplished. Sasuke worried, would he tell Danzo of what Sasuke had said?

'I'm in a real bind here. If he tells Danzo, Danzo will have no compunction about telling the Hokage that I'm a traitor, but if Danzo doesn't tell the Hokage, it'll mean that Root is planning something on me!'

Pushing his thoughts aside for the moment, he braved the still burning remnants of the armory. Smaller explosions were still going off as the greater one had sparked the gunpowder, explosive notes, and other explosives that were stored inside the armory. He went to where he had last seen the two and saw the glowing blue chakra shield from under the rubble.

The ANBU commander activated his sharingan and saw two forms under the shield, which was under the giant pile of debris. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Soon he and his 10 clones cleared the area enough for him to see the two. He reached in and pulled out Ino first. The chakra shield had done its job and kept her safe. A stray rock to the head had knocked her unconscious though. As he carefully set her down, he looked at the other casualty. There was blood everywhere.

A sharp jagged edge of a rock had pierced his armpit and struck a major artery. The guy was going to die if he didn't get help soon. Normally, Sasuke would've let the man die out, he was useless anyhow, but this was Sasuke's neck on the line and so he pulled from memory a healing technique he stole from a medic.

He jumped into the pit with the blonde and began going through the hand seals. Before he finished, he saw a wispy red chakra, almost like smoke, wrapping around the damaged areas of Naruto. He saw before his very eyes Naruto's skin stitching itself back together. Never before had he seen something like this. His sharingan was catching it all. If it was a jutsu, it was his.

To his disappointment, it was not a jutsu. It must have been a remnant of the Lost Clans then. His curiosity would have to wait till later. Grabbing Naruto roughly – he could heal himself right? – and tossed him out of the pit. Pumping his last chakra into his legs, he jumped out too. He would have to remind himself to put Naruto in the hospital just in case. Bloodlines were handy, but they had their shortcomings – except for the Sharingan of course – and they always backfired in one way or another.

What excuse could he make this time? He pondered this latest problem of his as he waited for his charge and his partner to recover.

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Naruto opened his eyes and saw an angel. 'Angels must've gotten a lot weirder from the days in the picture books I've read.'

This particular angel happened to have beautiful pink hair and laughing green eyes. 'Heaven rocks.' thought Naruto. 'Wait just a gosh darn second! What have I done that has earned me a spot through the pearly gates?'

His logic brought his hopes crashing down around him. The white had been the white of the fluorescent lights, and his 'angel' was nothing more than a nurse, a smoking hot nurse. 'Even if this isn't heaven,' he thought again, 'this is pretty good!'

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Yamanaka Ino stood before the Hokage alone. Sasuke had been dismissed and sent home for R&R. It made her slightly nervous, standing before the strongest ninja in the village had that kind of effect.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" Ino asked nervously.

"Do you know what? Do you know what the hardest decision a Hokage has to make is? It's deciding what to do with someone, that you thought you trusted, that you saw grow up from a little baby to a grown adult." He looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm too old for this job Ino. Doing this kills my heart."

"What is it Hokage-sama?" Ino had a sinking feeling in her stomach; it had to do with Sasuke.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "I don't know how to put this to you. I don't even know how to deal with it myself. But here it goes, Sasuke is a traitor. He works for Root. And I need you, because you are his closest companion, and because he trusts you the most. This is an A-Ranked mission and you will receive the appropriate pay after the successful completion of said mission. You must assassinate Uchiha Sasuke."

Ino let a lone tear slip down her cheek.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto

Chapter 4: Betrayal

"Kakashi, I need you for a special mission. This will not be recognized as an official mission, there is no paperwork, and no records of this will ever exist. I have assigned Yamanaka Ino to assassinate her lover of three years who I have discerned is a traitor, more specifically, a key Root operative. I have given her a week to see the completion of the mission, but if she does not, I want you to bring her in for insubordination, and I also want you to finish the mission in her stead."

The gray haired ex-ANBU stood silently before the Hokage. 'Would it be any easier for him? After all, Sasuke had been his student. Even though he didn't have that close of a bond with the boy, he did teach him most of what the ANBU knew.'

"Hai Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed and turned on his heel to leave the room.

As if reading his mind, Sarutobi sighed, "I know that you have a connection with him too. That's another reason why I chose you. But I also knew that you could overcome this to complete the mission, something that I'm afraid Yamanaka-san cannot do."

Kakashi had paused to listen to his leader's words, gave no response, and left.

The Hokage opened a drawer in his desk, pulled out his trusted pipe, lit it, and took a long drag. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was only the beginning.

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The mission report from Sasuke included mention of a strange red chakra that healed Naruto's wound seamlessly. He mentioned that it was the axillary artery that had been pierced, and normally that was a fatal battlefield wound. Miraculously, this non-shinobi survived and was back in perfect condition. Sakura pondered the implications of this finding. She looked towards the sleeping figure of the blonde haired patient that had checked in the other day; he was quite the enigma.

Swinging a chakra scanner over the area of his chakra coils she was given a shock. His chakra coils were completely twisted around and ruined. It would take a medic far beyond her capability to fix, and even that was doubtful. She was going to pull the scanner away when her eye caught a red wisp of chakra next to his pool of natural blue chakra. Turning to write down her findings, her face was met with the red and white robes of the Hokage. Startled, she dropped her clipboard and attempted to stand to properly address the Sandaime.

The wizened old man smiled down at her and put his hand on her shoulder. Despite the power radiating off of his seemingly frail frame, his presence and touch was comforting. She instantly calmed and gathered herself.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" she asked quickly.

"I thought it best to advise you about Naruto-kun's intriguing condition. Although it may go against all of your curiosity, I would like to ask you to stay away from the red chakra and not investigate further. I'm sorry that I cannot offer an explanation for my strange behavior, but please, do as I say."

Sakura was stunned, how important could this civilian and his red chakra be for the Hokage himself to step in on behalf of the man? Fighting against her instincts as a nurse, she pushed down her curiosity and tried her best to ignore it.

"It will be as you wish Hokage-sama." The pink haired nurse bowed, left the room to continue on her rounds.

The Hokage looked away from the direction in which she left and his gaze rested upon the slumbering form of Naruto.

"I know you're not sleeping Naruto-kun." The Hokage whispered, while letting a small smile creep onto his face.

"You could always tell with me Jiji." Naruto said as he sat up. "Thanks for covering for me, I wouldn't have enjoyed a bunch of questions concerning my," he looked around and continued softly, "condition."

The wrinkled man nodded, "Which is precisely why I came, Naruto-kun." He paused before continuing, "I also wanted to discuss with you the kenjutsu ability that you found during your battle with the Root operative."

"Yea, about that, I really don't know much about how it happened. I unsheathed the swords to make it seem as if I was a real ANBU agent, but as soon as I was attacked… I moved on my own, but… without my will." Naruto, despite his high IQ, was perplexed at his predicament.

At once, both people in the room said the same thing, "Itachi."

It was Itachi. The memories he implanted within Naruto weren't just from the Konoha database, they also included Itachi's fighting ability. Could this be just a fluke on Itachi's part or were there more memories along with this?

The Hokage thought for a moment, "Naruto, how did these abilities appear? What situation were you in?"

"As I said before, I was under attack, but then they came out of nowhere… I… I think that they require some sort of a catalyst, or a trigger that allows me to be able to use the memories."

It was a logical conclusion, and the Hokage agreed with the diagnosis, "If that's the case, then I think we should test them and the extent that they go to." Sarutobi picked up Naruto's chart and studied it, "You're fine, and I'm giving you official permission to go. I want you to be on Training Ground 7 for your test, it won't be a real test, don't worry."

Naruto sat there with a forlorn expression on his face. He didn't want this; he didn't want any of it, and yet, there it was.

'Fuck.'

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Being told to report to a random training ground with no explanation from the Hokage left the Jounin feeling… worried. Gekkou Hayate was not a man that was ever flustered, but the emergency hawk had mentioned that it was urgent from the Hokage. It had to be a matter of national security, but then why was he the only one here?

He coughed; the chronic sickness was closing its skeletal grip on his lungs. He knew that he only had a few years left… if he took it easy, but the life of a Jounin is never easy, the nurses gave him 8 months at best. At worst… he chose not to think about it.

He felt the shunshin before he saw it. Then the rush of leaves came and when they flew away, it left a Hokage and a… civilian in its wake. All thoughts of national security left his head as he examined the civilian closely. It was Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, last he heard, the boy's chakra coils were ruined due to the sealing, and his ninja dreams had disappeared along with his happiness. After that day nobody ever complained of prankings and odd disturbances during the night, it seemed that Naruto had dropped off of the face of the planet. Now here he was… with the Hokage and two swords strapped to his back. Swordsman? The boy became a samurai?

"Hayate, I'm glad you could come. I'm sorry about the urgent request and the lack of an explanation; it's just that we were in a rush. You're here because you're the premier kenjutsu master in Konoha, and we needed a test for Naruto here," he pointed to the boy, "something happened and now he needs to get tested on his kenjutsu skills, please no techniques, just a swordfight."

"If it isn't out of my pay grade, could you inform me of what that 'something' was?" asked Hayate, he looked pointedly at the teen.

The Hokage sighed, "I think you'll understand soon enough. It'll be better if you find out for yourself during your fight."

Gekkou Hayate nodded and unsheathed his sword. His movements were fluid and practiced. Getting into a comfortable stance, he held his blade two handed pointing at Naruto. Naruto reached behind him and did the same.

'A dual-wielder and he looks almost as comfortable with the blade as I. I haven't fought one since… Uchiha Itachi.' His eyes narrowed; he had heard the strange rumors of Uchiha Itachi's death whispered amongst the Jounin ranks, this was bizarre.

Each waiting for the other to make the first move, they stared at each other. Gekkou Hayate saw the fear and uncertainty in Naruto's eyes, his body attested to his skill, but his eyes gave him away. The boy didn't know what he was doing, and yet, he did. This was enough to give him a headache. Launching himself forward at the boy he swung it with deadly precision at Naruto's neck. If the Hokage felt that Naruto was good enough to challenge him, then he would have no problem with an all out fight.

Closing his eyes and shutting out his mind, he let his body take over; after all, it wasn't his brain doing the work. Opening his eyes, his world was clarified and he had a heightened sense of the environment around him. It was like using his instincts, just that they weren't his, but those of Itachi's.

Naruto held up his blades and blocked the attack while somersaulting backwards to lessen the impact. Landing lightly on his feet he began a flurry of attacks. Smashing Hayate's blade aside with his sword, he brought his ninjato around for a strike at the man's chest, but his opponent wasn't known as a sword master for nothing. With lightning speed the Jounin brought his katana back to the front and stopped the attack with the flat of his blade. The terrain could no longer hold up to the power of the fighters and they both flew back from the release of the earth. Their slide had left tear marks along the ground. It was only the beginning.

Once again, Hayate took the offensive and spun his blade in a dizzying pattern before Naruto's eyes, barely able to keep up; a kick to the chest sent him falling to the ground. One of his blades slipped out of his hand and he struggled to keep his footing. Running forwards he thrust his ninjato at Hayate's eyes with a speed that he had never used before, it obviously surprised his opponent as well. The blade left a small scratch on the bridge of his nose and a drop of blood dripped from the cut. First blood.

Running back over to his fallen sword he spun to block Hayate's swing, while at the same time kicking up his ninjato and catching it in a spin he almost caught the man's chest. Hayate sensed this coming and swerved back in time to avoid the attack and also kicking dirt into Naruto's eyes. Fighting and trying to blink the earth of out his eyes, Naruto began fighting a losing battle. His vision blurred and all he could use was the sounds of his enemy's feet on the ground and his harsh breath rattling in his lungs.

The battle was truly a sight to behold, a macabre dance of death. The blades were flashing in the sunlight and Naruto slowly regained ground against his much stronger adversary. But Gekkou Hayate was not a man to be taken lightly, returning to the battle in full blast he spun and slashed in a variety of different ways, each scoring small cuts upon the Jinchuuriki. Just as soon as these cuts appeared, they disappeared in a small red wisp of chakra which was evidence of the beast contained within his body. Ignoring the small victories, he moved in for the killing strike. He had maneuvered the boy into a small clearing of his choice and at that precise moment, Naruto stepped backwards and was thrown off balance by a rut in the ground. Hayate's eyes flashed as he saw his perfectly planned opening and slipped through Naruto's defenses. At once his blade was at Naruto's throat.

The Hokage clapped in admiration of Hayate and Naruto's skill with their weapons. It had been an impressive battle between them, but as he watched, he noticed that Naruto's fighting style – if it could be attributed to the Jinchuuriki – was identical to the form that Uchiha Itachi used. Gekkou Hayate lent a hand to his opponent who had been sprawled on the ground, and he was brought up. Shaking Naruto's hand, he said, "It was an incredibly challenging fight, an honor that I bestow to few people."

Naruto felt awkward about receiving this obviously high praise, as it wasn't him fighting, but rather the memories that Itachi had left within him. "T-thank you." stuttered Naruto.

The Hokage told Naruto to go back to his shop and get some rest, before his next mission. He turned to his trusted Jounin associate and asked him, "Well? Do you understand now?"

Gekkou Hayate could say nothing for a while, "I don't know if the conclusion that I arrived at is the right one. During my fight, I didn't see Naruto fighting me, but rather, Uchiha Itachi. So are the rumors true then?" Hayate clarified, "The ones that say that Uchiha Itachi was on a state-sponsored killing rampage?"

The Hokage felt no choice but to tell him the truth. "What I'm going to tell you is Top Secret information. If this new got out to any… undesirables, then the entire village's security is compromised. Are you aware of the seriousness of this situation?"

Before Hayate responded, the Hokage sent multiple shadow clones to form a perimeter around them, to watch for enemy shinobi, as well as scanning the area for voice recording devices and cameras. Once he was sure it was secure, he nodded for the Jounin to speak.

"Hai Hokage-sama. Please continue."

Sarutobi Hiruzen began speaking, "I sent Uchiha Itachi to destroy Konoha's database. I felt that Root had infiltrated too far into our ranks, so rather than risking all of Konoha's secrets of falling into Root's hands, I decided to get rid of it. Uchiha Itachi discerned the situation as well, and volunteered to do the job. He knew that it would result in his death, but he felt the need to sacrifice himself, even if it meant giving his legacy a taint that would last forever."

Gekkou Hayate finally understood and his respect for the shinobi grew. He had always known Itachi to be a steadfast patriot, and his last act was completely out of character. Now his name was cleared in his book, but in the minds of the rest of Konoha, the name still held the memories of betrayal.

"Before he undertook the mission, he asked of me a strange favor. He asked me to release the fully undisclosed version of Uzumaki Naruto's profile. At the time, I didn't know why, maybe to satisfy a past curiosity, but I pushed it to the back of my mind; there were more pressing matters at hand. He did as he was asked and did it to perfection. But then, he did something that confounded me. He activated his Sharingan and memorized everything within the database. From that point he went to the home of Uzumaki Naruto and died giving all of the information to him."

The sickly Jounin's mind connected all the dots and so he responded, "So this explains the connection between Itachi's sword styles imbedded in Naruto's body?"

The Hokage nodded.

"It will be certainly interesting to watch how this progresses."

The Jounin could do nothing but nod in assent. It certainly would.

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Sakura heard a knock on her door. Looking through the peephole she could see that it was Sasuke. She looked at her watch; it was 2 in the morning. What was he doing here?

Opening the door she greeted her… visitor. Rubbing her eyes and shaking off the sleep she asked, "So what brings you here? Shouldn't you be busy ravishing your cover?"

Sasuke smirked, "Oh, I did, believe me. She'll be remembering that one for a while." Sakura huffed at the indignity, "But you know, I would've much rather it been you."

At this the pink haired nurse smiled; it was just the expected response. Her infatuation with him since their Genin days had blossomed into a full fledged relationship, until one day, Sasuke was forced to change it all for Root. Danzo split them so that Sasuke could have a better influence within the ANBU ranks, it hurt, but of course, it was for the greater good.

Sasuke's countenance changed from the smirk into its normal serious expression. "Sakura, I have a problem. From multiple sources that I've heard from, it seems that the Hokage has ordered my assassination and knows that I'm part of Root. I need to get out of Konoha, away from Root, away from all of this. I'm going to be leaving at the end of the week; I just wanted to give you an early notice. I'll keep in touch; don't worry about me."

The man gave a small smile and turned to leave but Sakura grabbed his arm. "Sasuke, are you sure about this?"

Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder, "Yea, I'm sure. I can't stay here any longer if I want to live."

His words reassured her but his eyes gave him away. Usually Sasuke sported a calm and serious demeanor and his eyes were like black mirrors, but today, his eyes were somber.

"I'll go with you Sasuke! I'll help you, heal you when you're hurt and fight alongside you in your battles. It'll be everything we've ever dreamed of. We could have kids, raise a family, and be happy together."

Sasuke frowned, "You know it can't be like that Sakura. They're going to hunt us, and there are going to be Hunter-nins every where we turn. We won't be able to have kids, this dream won't exist Sakura. I'm sorry, but this is a thing I have to do alone. I found someone willing to grant me immunity, but it can only be me. They won't take you."

Sakura let her tears fall onto his hand, "We'll find a way to do it Sasuke. I know we can." But on the inside, both of them knew the futility of her words.

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Creeping back into bed was one of the hardest things Sasuke had ever done. It was made even harder due to the fact that his lover was one of the lightest sleepers in ANBU. Holding his breath, using every stealth technique known to mankind, he somehow managed to get onto the mattress, so one could imagine Sasuke's surprise when he heard Ino speaking to him.

"You smell like… women's perfume."

'Shit! Sakura hugged me, what's a good excuse?' Sasuke's mind frantically searched for an explanation. "I had to drop in on an old friend of mine, something about…" The ANBU commander hunted for words, "…condoms."

Sasuke mentally smacked himself in the forehead. How could he be so stupid, what kind of excuse was that?

Ino's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Condoms huh? Did you… personally show her what it looks like on the penis?"

Cursing him and his stupidity he turned over and faked sleep.

"I know it was Sakura. She's got a distinct perfume." Ino in turn pretended to sleep.

The night passed in uncomfortable silence as the pair laid there. Morning came and tensions were tight.

'I have to kill him? This is the only way to break my bond with him. He might have felt that it was fake all along, but I felt something, or at least I thought I did.'

"Was it fun? Was Sakura worth the midnight escapade?" Ino pressed the matter.

Sasuke snapped, "Ino, shut the fuck up."

"I'm sure that's what you made Sakura do so that the neighbors couldn't hear her screaming in ecstasy." snapped the blonde.

The ANBU's chakra flared, "You know what? You make me sick. Yeah, I had a midnight sex session with my old girlfriend for all of… 5 minutes. I'm really that quick and she really enjoyed it. Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that it? Are you happy now?"

Sasuke's words, even though she knew that their relationship was a lie, still hurt her. Tears welled up in her eyes as each word struck her heart. It was what she wanted after all right?

All the shouting stopped however when they heard knocking on the door. When it opened it was their asset, Naruto. Ears turning red at his presence, the two began talking at the same time.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?"

Flustered at being caught in a lover's quarrel, the two tried to cover it up by acting as if it never happened.

'Wow. Well I'll be darned, I just saw the ANBU commander and his girly girl fighting about… cheating.'

Naruto sensed their frustration, "Nevermind, please continue whatever it was that you were doing, I'll be going now."

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Ino stormed out of the apartment after Naruto left to blow some steam at an ANBU training facility. Meanwhile, Kakashi had heard everything that was going on. He understood Ino's tactic of trying to cut the strings that connected her heart to him, but it obviously wasn't working. He steeled himself for what he would have to do. Killing your own student is something that shouldn't ever be done. The Hokage couldn't do it with Orochimaru, and now Kakashi was being called to do something that would make Obito turn in his grave.

He would have no chance to cut all ties he had with his former student; all he could do was to cut his own heart. But he hid all of his sadness behind his orange book as he let out a string of perverted giggles. As a ninja, he was really good at lying to everyone else, after all, that was what ninja's were supposed to do, right? He deceived everyone and everyone bought it, that's just how things went.

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Sasuke groaned as he stretched out his arms in front of his computer. This was it; Ino was out of the apartment and now was Sasuke's chance to prevent Danzo from killing him. Sasuke pulled out a memory card and plugged it into the computer. Quickly taking all documents relating to Naruto, he dumped them into the card along with the audio files that they got when they bugged him. This should appease the vengeful Root leader.

The ANBU commander had placed himself into a high level of trust with the village, how did the Hokage find out about him? He was still confused about how his cover had been blown, maybe the Root agent that he 'fought' with earlier tattled on him. If he ever got the chance, he would beat the answer out of him. Turning his thoughts to the matter at hand, he erased all evidence of tampering with the files and pulled the card.

He crossed his fingers as he left the apartment. He whispered to himself, "Please work, please work, please work…"

Sasuke approached an inconspicuous stump in the middle of a park. Kneeling down as if to adjust his sandals; he tapped in a secret code on the side of the stump. The electronics within the system reacted to his code and it opened a small slit on the side. Sasuke looked around to see if anyone was watching, and dropped the memory card into the opening.

He, as Ino did earlier, just cut his ties with Root. Giving all of his information on Naruto was the last act that he would ever do for Root and he felt a large weight lift from his shoulders. He was so close to freedom.

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The card that Sasuke put into the stump would take four days to be processed and checked for threats. It would reach Danzo personally, so no chances were taken with the esteemed leader's safety. Careful not to tamper with the actual item itself, the scientists and ninjas examined it with extreme caution and discerned that it contained no threat to the beloved Danzo. This process would take three days, just in case there was a hidden timed charge and one day for an actual physical examination.

During the time that the memory card was being examined, Sasuke planned his departure from the village and Ino prepared herself for her mission. Sasuke had become distant from her after their fight and this eased her soul as she became determined to kill the traitor. Kakashi did much of the same things that Ino did. They sharpened their weapons, checked their jutsu repertoire, and stocked up on their soldier pills. Against Sasuke, who was a very formidable opponent, every little edge counted, for every little thing could determine life or death.

Sasuke went over his supplies and deemed that he had enough to survive for five days alone in the wilderness. After that he would be forced to hunt and gather for sustenance. The trip, given that there were no distractions, would take 7 days, but this was a best case scenario. Orochimaru had promised him immunity from Konoha, as well as covering up his identity as well as he could. This was all for a price of course, with the Sannin there always was. He knew of Orochimaru's sick dream of becoming immortal, as well as his desire to learn every single jutsu there was to learn. But when the time comes, Sasuke was sure that he could defeat Orochimaru. This was not arrogance in his eyes; it was the cold, hard truth.

Naruto was ignored in this situation as both his handlers became increasingly preoccupied with their separate worries. He was sure of his ability to protect himself though and his worries, as opposed to those of his handlers, decreased. He spent his time refining his sword making and practicing in a small clearing with his newfound skills. He knew something big was going to happen as the tension was tightening noticeably. He didn't know what, but given enough time, he would be able to find out.

The Jinchuuriki went onto his computer and broke into the government files, the not so classified ones, as those were all safely locked inside his brain. He searched through all the documents concerning missions as well as daily reports from the Hokage to the council. There was mention of Root and this was what intrigued Naruto. The information concerning Root was kept to a minimum and the documents revealed nothing more than what Naruto already knew.

Naruto realized that whatever was happening was going on undocumented due to the secretive nature of the operations. This must be what was bothering Ino and Sasuke; he also noticed the arrival of Kakashi, who was unaware of, or ignorant of Naruto's security cameras following his every move. 'Watching the watcher.' thought Naruto and the irony was not lost on him. Leaning back in his chair he tried to think.

'So what to do now? If there was no written documentation of the things going on behind the scenes of Konoha, how to find out? Of course! Watch what was going on in the village itself.' Naruto reviewed tapes of the past week, trying to find out what Sasuke and Ino had been doing that would reveal to him their secrets. Nighttime was fast approaching and the only thing that lit Naruto's room was his computer screen. He heard the fight from outside of Ino and Sasuke's apartment and he saw himself walking up to the door. Fast forwarding through the parts he already knew, he saw Sasuke sit down at the computer after Ino left and watched carefully. Maybe something here would disclose the precious information. He noticed Sasuke's furtive glances around him, making sure that he was not being watched. He had obviously underestimated Naruto's security system. His mistake.

Naruto observed Sasuke leaving the apartment mouthing words to himself. He also noticed the crossed fingers and the memory card clutched in his hand. Something strange was going on. Fast forwarding until Sasuke stopped to adjust his sandals, he noticed again the furtive glances of Sasuke's as well as the tapping on the stump. That was no random tapping, as the slit opened and the memory card fell in. Naruto's eyes widened. He reversed back to when Sasuke was on the computer. Naruto zoomed in as much as the resolution would allow and saw something that shocked him. It was a photo of himself.

The pieces fell into place in Naruto's mind. Kakashi keeping surveillance on Ino and Sasuke, Ino's distance from Sasuke when before they were gushing lovebirds, all the evidence pointed to the fact that Sasuke was a traitor. Sasuke had information on Naruto, the confidential information that didn't technically exist, and would cause Konoha to fall into ruin. That stump could've been a Root drop-off site, and Sasuke was reporting in to Danzo, the secretive leader of the rebel group.

The implications were serious. Village security was at stake, as well as his life. Grabbing his newly made swords and slinging them over his back he left his place to go stop Sasuke. All this time he professed that he had no ability, no chance of fighting against someone obviously superior in skill and strength. But now, he had Itachi on his side.

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Sasuke looked around his apartment that he shared with his 'lover' Ino. He felt that after the argument, any emotional attachments Ino might still have had were cut. There was nothing holding him back in Konoha, nothing to tweak his heart to try to reconcile his deeds and his crimes against his nation. He opened the door and left.

He was fast approaching the main gate, his fake mission papers held tightly in his hand. He was sweating; his freedom awaited him just outside the gates. About a mile away from his destination, a black blur shot out in front of him. He had been discovered.

He had been hoping to avoid confrontations, but now it seemed unavoidable. He was going to have to fight his way out of Konoha, possibly killing his ex-comrades in the process.

"For crimes against the nation of Konoha, you have been sentenced to death, Uchiha Sasuke. This is mandated by the Third Fire Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama. There will be no rights given, there will be no trial. I alone am your jury, judge, and executioner. You will receive the punishment that all traitors receive. Prepare yourself."

There they were the official words that condemned him. He would have to act fast, other ANBU were surely on their way. He flipped through handseals and said, "Doton: Doryuu Taiga."

Immediately a river of mud enveloped his enemy and he followed up with another technique, "Doton: Doriyuudan!"

From the river of mud came an earth dragon of unimaginable size. His opponent could do nothing but stare in horror as their death quickly approached them. The jutsu required the caster's full attention to control and Sasuke was held in concentration.

Ino looked on as the dragon was about to come crashing down upon her. She closed her eyes, sad that she died with so many regrets about her life. As she lifted her head and her eyes to face her death, she was struck by a million little pieces of dried up mud.

Sasuke was bleeding, he didn't know how or why, but he was bleeding. Somebody had sliced at him and broke his concentration during the chakra costly technique. He was furious. He pulsed his chakra in all directions and sensed a disturbance to his left. Sending a kunai hurtling towards his enemy at insane speeds he was fast behind it as he tried to kill his opponent. The sound of metal ringing on metal reached his ears as he came face to face with his adversary, Uzumaki Naruto.

'Fuck.' Now he was in a predicament, he couldn't kill Naruto, because that means his peace offering to Danzo would be for naught, as the database would be oozing out on the ground mixed with Naruto's brains. He had to incapacitate the guy so as to not kill him, but to take him out as a threat permanently. His choices were limited.

Ino pulled herself from the mud that had held her frozen and tore off her mask while charging at Sasuke. She arrived just as Sasuke ran Naruto through with his own sword. It wasn't a fatal wound, but one that would surely become one if not given immediate medical attention. Naruto couldn't be counted on as an ally in this fight anymore. She had been caught off guard by Sasuke's first onslaught of jutsu's but now she was more prepared. She saw with a clarity that she had never felt before, her senses were heightened and everything dropped away from her except for Sasuke.

Ino attacked with taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, she gave her everything to kill the man that had broken her heart and thrown it away like trash. She threw him back with her vengeance. She transformed her grief into strength, her anger into power, and her fear into determination. Like an unstoppable juggernaut Ino quickly overpowered her opponent and all seemed right. She would win. Her blade was poised to slit Sasuke's throat, and she saw death in her enemy's eyes. It was over.

The last few seconds passed by as if in slow motion. The ninjato flashed in the moonlight, reflecting off of it the white orb in the sky, a stark contrast to the blood that covered the ground and the fighters. She felt an elation in her heart, the one that always appears when a kill is about to be made. The feeling that they would not die, but rather that they would kill the one that threatened them. It was perfect.

But perfection was not meant to last, and the peace of the moment was shattered as a figure dropped out of the sky. Sasuke had come so close to accepting his death, but at that second, hope flared in his heart. Sakura.

Ino was slammed by Sakura's punch and flew into a stone wall that cracked under the immense pressure. Amidst the rubble Ino's mind struggled to register what had happened. NO! It couldn't be that Sakura was Root too? Who did she know that wasn't turned by the traitorous organization?

Her strength faded as she had expended all of her energy in her fight with Sasuke. She would die, just as before. Sakura would come and finish the deed. But it seemed that death didn't want Ino that day as Kakashi arrived on the scene. He had been told to only intervene when Ino couldn't finish the job, and that time was now.

Despite his skill and genius, fighting two incredibly high level ninja's was at his limit. Sakura was an accomplished medic who was just as dangerous with taijutsu as Rock Lee, and Sasuke was stronger in all departments. His genjutsu's were second only to Kurenai's, his ninjutsu was beyond that of even Kakashi's, and his taijutsu surpassed that of Maito Gai's. Sasuke was one of the most dangerous ninjas alive. It would take everything Kakashi had and more to defeat the two.

Sakura reached into her holster for a kunai. Tied to that kunai was a small ribbon, one that had been given to her by Ino when they were children. It was a form of cutting her ties with Konoha. Sakura threw that kunai with all her might in Ino's direction. The kunai embedded itself into the stone right next to Ino's face. In the moonlight she could see tears streaming down the kunoichi's face, everything that she had ever thought she loved had betrayed her in one night. First Sasuke, then Sakura, who else? Her parents? Ino thought of taking the kunai that was next to her and slitting her own throat.

Kakashi was planning his moves. He uncovered his sharingan and prepared to attack. He moved in easily under Sakura's guard, too easily it seemed and his suspicions were proven true as he attacked nothing but a shadow clone. He spun around to Sasuke and destroyed him with a powerful attack. But that resulted in nothing but a puff of smoke. He had been tricked; the two had left shadow clones and escaped. This was very uncharacteristic of him, failing a mission? That was unheard of with Hatake Kakashi. He couldn't chase them into the night, he would be outmatched as they had the time to prepare, and he had no choice but to report to the Hokage.

At that moment, the ANBU showed up responding to the chakra fluctuations in the area. They were too late; Kakashi told them to take care of Ino and Naruto and left to go find the Hokage.

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Naruto was slowly healing as the red chakra did its magic and fixed him perfectly. The ANBU picked him up and brought him to the hospital along with Ino. Clutched in Ino's hand was the kunai with the ribbon, and her other hand was hanging limply at her side, blood flowing unchecked out of her open wrist.

The ANBU, while transporting the wounded/dying, did a rudimentary healing jutsu on Ino's wrist, but it would only hold till they got to the hospital. That would be enough to keep the kunoichi alive for the time being.

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A day after the battle between Ino and Sasuke occurred overhead, Danzo opened a small package on his desk. It was a simple memory card from his now rogue agent Sasuke. A note was attached to the back.

It read, "A farewell gift."

Danzo smiled at the 'touching' gesture. He would have to send some agents to kill Sasuke eventually, regardless of the gift. Such a promising agent, so wasteful to have to kill the kid.

He turned in his chair to his computer and powered it up.

'The memory card must contain valuable information if he hopes it will appease me.' thought Danzo, examining the memory card.

Once the computer was fully loaded, he plugged in the card. He opened the folder inside of it and was shocked at what he saw. It was completely empty.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?" The yell was heard all throughout the Root secret base.

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Upon hearing the yell, a scientist quickly excused himself to the bathroom. Locking the bathroom door behind him, he pried off the ventilation cover and crept inside. He scrambled his way out of the system and popped up above ground in a factory. Taking off his clothes and hiding them in the vent, he jumped down and left the building.

'Damn that was hard.' thought the fake scientist as he yanked off his wig. Bright blonde hair replaced the black wig that had covered it and held in his hand was a memory card.

'Feh. Let's trash this shit.' Naruto snapped it in half and tossed it into a nearby river.

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**IMPORTANT NOTICE! READ BELOW! IMPORTANT NOTICE! READ BELOW!**

**A/N: I know I said I wouldn't do very many authors notes, and I'll try not to, but this time, it was unavoidable. First off, thanks for reading! Second, I would like to apologize for the weak ending (if you think so). Lastly, please give me reviews! I need them to improve upon my writing! It's inconceivable to me that my writing is perfect… it isn't… I know, so give me constructive criticism!! Thanks a bunch.**

**-Word of The Day**


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto

Chapter 5: Break

**A/N: You know what? I thought I wouldn't bother anybody anymore with my author's notes, but it seems that right after I mentioned that in chapter…three (?) I kept making more. So whatever, I'll do it anyways. I wanted to explain my reasoning why Kakashi allowed Sakura and Sasuke to escape; I mean he's the copy nin right? **

**Well, first, Sakura is incredibly strong. Not as strong as Tsunade or Kakashi, but she's up there. Kabuto didn't get training from a Sannin and he's ridiculously strong, so why couldn't Sakura be the same way? **

**Second, Kakashi was distracted (I might not have mentioned that) because one, he would have to kill his student, actually, **_**both**_** his students and that's not an easy thing, especially because of Obito's influence on Kakashi. He was distracted enough (and I might've stretched it a bit) so that Sakura could make two Kage Bunshin and run away with Sasuke. Once Kakashi got around to it, all he did was kill the clones that Sakura had made. Two A-Class ninja's (Sasuke and Sakura) are most definitely able to take down a pursuing Kakashi; they have advantage of time, numbers, and desperation. Sasuke was going to die, either by the Hokage's or Danzo's hand. Also, Sakura as well, since she made the choice to betray Ino and help the traitor, she became a traitor herself. People always fight hardest with their backs against the wall.**

**This is becoming a long author's note… I'm also not going to do lemons, for the guy who asked me to. I don't like that… sorry.**

**Quick! Word of the Day! "Starts with P and ends with OOP!"**

**Guess!**

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The bartender responded to the call and refilled the bottle of sake. He looked down at the girl with sad eyes. She was obviously underage, but due to her status as a ninja of Konoha, she was given the privileges of an adult, the reason behind this being, _"Hey, if you can choose to die for your country, then you sure as hell can drink in your country!"_

It was the life of a ninja that caused so many like her to stumble in after a mission and drink themselves into oblivion. Many would have the tell-tale marks of dried tears on their cheeks, or others would have the haunted look of desperation in their eyes, but they treated these problems all the same. They drowned their sorrows in the bottle. This was the one moment in which they could forget all of their sins, all of their past mistakes, and all the pressures of the future. The instant the bottle touched their lips, it was just them in the moment where everything slipped away.

The bloodshot eyes of the blonde girl in front of him made him shake his head in sorrow. The things these heroes had to do for their country at such a young age killed their innocence before its time. She raised her glass towards him and he obliged as he filled her glass for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was a truly sad sight.

Yamanaka Ino's life before becoming a ninja was the dream life for any girl; she had been living amongst flowers everyday, had all her whims catered by a doting father, and she possessed the body of a goddess. Why she gave this up was beyond her; after that choice everything just seemed to go downhill.

First off, her love life sucked. As a civilian, she would've had civilian noblemen (or so she wanted to believe) following her around like love-struck dogs, and respected ninjas looking to impress her with flashy ninjutsu and high positions. But now, what nobleman in his right mind (and that's the only kind of _good_ nobleman) would desire a girl with a muscular body and an ability to kill him with a few movements of her fingers? She had dated her teammate Shikamaru for a few years before he became the ambassador to Suna and fell head over heels for Temari. That hadn't ended well. Then came the rebounding with a few flings with her fellow ANBU members, those had been fun, but not lasting; ANBU relationships tended to be that way.

Then was the fact that just one night ago, she had accepted that she was going to die… twice. She saw the dragon approaching her full speed and she remembered how she had closed her eyes and waited for the darkness to overwhelm her. Miraculously she survived due to the intervention of the blonde enigma that was Naruto. She was supposed to be protecting _him_ not the other way around. The second time she faced her mortality was after Sakura had come to Sasuke's rescue. Sakura officially broke her tie with Ino when she returned the pink ribbon that signified their bond. Ino had burned it afterwards, along with all the pictures she had with her traitorous friend and lover.

Finally it was the love of her life, Uchiha Sasuke. Every girl that was within 10 years of his age had looked upon the man with lustful eyes as he was the most desired man in the village. With a dark and mysterious past, and a face born of generations of aristocratic breeding, what was there to not like? He was rich, he was famous, he was strong, and he was _hers_. Yamanaka Ino had beaten all of the doubters, all of the beautiful women in capturing the last Uchiha's heart. Due to his recent tragedy, he was even more desirous, with a cold and arrogant attitude that underneath the surface, was boiling with a desire for vengeance. The thought made her spine tingle with excitement. Or at least, it used to…

'No! Stop thinking about him! He dropped you like a sack of worthless junk! He was a _traitor_.' Ino called for another bottle of sake. 'You have nothing; you couldn't even bring yourself to kill him after he betrayed you.'

Her inner self tormented her with the thoughts and the regrets of her life. The only thing to shut out the pain was with the drink. The magical drink, sake. If she couldn't shut herself up, maybe the drink could, and so far, it worked like magic.

'You make me sick. You're a kunoichi and now you're just sitting around wallowing in your self pity? You were supposed to be strong!' Ino clamped her hands over her ears, a futile attempt at shutting out the voice. She needed more sake. 'Sasuke was right to have left the village, especially if it was filled with a bunch of doddering fools like _you_. You never deserved a man like him. He's still better than you even though he's a traitor, how does that make you feel?'

"SHUT UP!! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!!" Ino snapped. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing. This was bad news. Whenever a ninja broke in a bar, with alcohol flooding their system, they got dangerous. Some of the wiser patrons began heading for the door quietly; anything might set off the angered ninja. Her bloodshot eyes gave her an appearance of a demon, her greasy hair gave her the look of someone who was lost, and her voice spoke of a woman who was dying. Ino grabbed the bottle of sake, downed it in one gulp and threw it against a wall. The shards sprinkled all over the area, showering the patrons with hundreds of sharp pieces of glass.

Ino grabbed a kunai from her pouch and stormed out of the bar into the rainy night. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't often that you got to live through such an occurrence. The bartender sat down at his stool and stared in the direction that the girl had left. It was such a harsh life and if he knew anything at all, he knew that she was going to kill herself.

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Ino stumbled in the cold rain, trying to find her way home. The water splashing on her body sobered her up a little and the presence of the kunai in her hand reminded her of her task. She couldn't live like this anymore. Her dreams had crashed around her and left her with nothing. The man that she believed in had thrown her away like yesterday's garbage. She had given her heart to him, and he stabbed it with his sword.

Walking up to a little bridge over a stream, she contemplated which way she would take her life. A kunai seemed simplest. Drowning would give her too much time to rethink her actions, and she didn't want second thoughts. Hanging was much the same. A kunai was quick. A quick slice of the wrists would do the job. In this rain, and in this lonely area, there would be no one to find her and take her away. She held up her kunai against her wrist and took a deep breath.

'Well, this is it.' Ino let her breath go.

She began to pull the blade across her hand and the rough edge of the kunai cut easily through her skin. It was so easy, this suicide thing, she didn't know why so many people failed at it. Looking at the trickle of blood that was leaving her she paused for a second, admiring her handiwork. At least now, she would be able to succeed where so many people had not.

Resuming her work she closed her eyes and finished the job. At least she tried to finish it. Something was stopping her. There was a hand holding the knife away from her wrist. Her eyes moved from the hand, to the wrist, to the forearm, and all the way up until she saw the person's face. Spiky hair was silhouetted in the moonlight and she tried to pull away. His hand was clamped on the kunai, and she could imagine the pain he was in as he held onto the deadly blade.

"Please stop." With those two words she stopped. The words were short, but the feeling and emotion behind them made her feel what the speaker felt. There was sadness and sorrow in the tone of his voice.

She stood there with a kunai in her hand and a small cut on her wrist. The kunai slowly slipped out of her hand and fell onto the wood of the bridge. The blood from his hand was dripping on the bridge and the rain was constantly washing away the small puddle that formed. His other hand reached up and put it on her shoulder.

"Don't do it Yamanaka-san. Please." whispered Naruto, looking her in the eyes. "I need you."

Ino hung her head as she stared at the ground. The rain was beginning to slow and the blood from Naruto's hand stopped flowing. Her eyes shut and her breathing calmed. The alcohol befuddling her brain was wiped away and she saw things clearly as she collapsed into Naruto's arms.

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She awoke to a splitting headache and the smell of coffee. Naruto sat by her (or was it his?) bed with coffee and toast.

"I heard that the best way to get rid of a hangover was coffee." He gave her a small smile. "I also found a way to get some hangover medicine too, something that a ninja named Tsunade developed after one too many hangovers."

Ino nodded gratefully and accepted the food. "Thank you so much."

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Um… about last night…"

Her eyes widened, he couldn't have taken advantage of her, right?

Naruto, seeing the look in her eyes quickly recovered, "No! Not like that! Not like that at all! Erm… it was about how you tried to… you know…"

Ah, the suicide attempt. Ino looked away for a little bit, that was a very touchy subject. "Let's not talk about that okay?"

The blonde man brightened up a little bit, "Yeah, that's what I wanted to say. Well, I talked to the old man Hokage about it. I know that he wouldn't tell anybody, but he decided to put you on reserve duty due to emotional strains. And I wanted to thank you, for not doing it, because then I would've been… alone." He looked down.

Ino gave a little smile. "You talked to the Hokage already? What time is it? How long have I been sleeping?"

Naruto looked blank for a second, looked at his watch and said, "Uh… about… 18 hours? So right now it's about 10 at night. The Hokage also mentioned that we should get out of Konoha for a little bit, so that the memories would heal… or something deep and wise like that."

He gave her a half-hearted attempt at a smile. Deep down Ino appreciated that; it was a touching gesture from someone she barely knew, who despite having his own problems, put them aside for hers.

"So it would be like a vacation?" asked Ino.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but there's just one complication…"

The blonde got ready for a torrent of bad news.

"… since it would be strange for just a guy and a girl to be wandering the world, he said we'd have to act like a couple. I know that you're in a lot of emotional stress right now so I thought maybe… we didn't have to go on that break."

Ino gave a small smile; Naruto seemed to be full of surprises. "It's okay. I'll go with you, I needed a break anyways."

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Naruto went out to pack supplies for his trip. He grabbed all the essentials and various foodstuffs but when he arrived at a small bundle in the corner he paused. It was the ANBU equipment he had worn for his last few missions as an intel officer, trying to take out Root. He decided not to take it; after all, it was just a vacation.

Ino on the other hand packed weapons and ninja equipment first. She placed them in storage scrolls and tucked them into her unused Jounin vest that she would now don. It was only after she got those that she crammed some cooking utensils and foods into the last remaining storage scroll. Her mission in protecting Naruto came first.

They left their homes early in the morning the next day. Meeting at the front gate, they discussed the plans for the 'vacation'.

"We're going to Wave Country. We'll eat on the way. Okay?" said Naruto.

Ino gave a nod and they both went out the gate. On taking the first step Naruto paused. Sensing her partner's hesitation, she turned around.

"Is something the matter?"

Naruto had a small frown on his face. "This is the first time… I've ever left the village. I always thought about it when I was a kid, now that I'm actually doing it, it doesn't seem quite as cool as I imagined."

The two walked for the better part of three hours and breakfast time began coming around. When sitting down to cook food, Naruto looked up at Ino.

"What do you want to eat?"

Ino shook her head, "I'm… not hungry."

Naruto studied her face, she was thinking about Sasuke judging by the sad look. He needed something to get her out of this funk she was in. Thinking fast, he leaned towards her with wide eyes.

"You want to know a secret I learned over the years?" He had serious look on his face. "I watched a scientific medical documentary and it said that if you don't eat…" He paused for dramatic effect.

Ino leaned in, slightly intrigued.

"…you die."

There was a pregnant pause and suddenly both of them broke out laughing. Naruto gave her a wide smile and she gave one back.

"Come on, let's eat or we're both going to die before we finish our vacation."

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While they were going to Wave, they stopped at a city on the outskirts of Fire Country. It seemed that the central attraction was its casino, so while Ino looked for a hotel, Naruto decided to try his luck at the slots.

Upon entering the building, he was struck by the loud noises and the flashing lights that surrounded him. Cigarette smoke gave the place a sultry atmosphere and he went to go get his money exchanged. Naruto sat down at the first machine he saw and read the instructions. It said to input the token and pull the lever three times and if it lined three letters/pictures up, you're a winner. Shrugging his shoulders he did as it said. Mindlessly pulling the levers, he was assaulted by the loudest noise he had heard in a long time. The lights on his machine began blinking and flashing and spinning in all sorts of strange designs. A ticket fell out of the machine telling him that he had won and to report to the front desk.

'Strange. What luck!'

While he was walking towards the front desk to receive his prize he heard a loud yell of despair as an incredibly busty blonde woman lost a buttload of money at a game. People were standing around her laughing and smiling as the woman and her friend, who was carrying a pig, left the game with despondent looks. As soon as he saw the woman's face, a name appeared in his head. Tsunade of the Sannin, the legendary sucker. Information flooded his brain regarding her hemophilia, her incredible medical talent, and her past.

Shaking his head to clear his brain, he returned on his journey to the desk.

"Congratulations! You are the first person this year to win the GRAND PRIZE!!!" Naruto nearly fell on his back when the voice from the loudspeaker hit him. Naruto handed his ticket to the man and his eyes nearly fell out at the sight.

"You win… 10 MILLION RYO!!!" Even Naruto, with his usual calm demeanor was shocked. His jaw hit the floor and fainted.

The man at the desk sighed, 'This happens to everyone…'

Splashing cold water on the lucky winner's face, he brought Naruto to the back room. Hundreds of money counting machines were busy at work counting out Naruto's winnings. As soon as the machines stopped, the people operating them grabbed the bills and placed them in one of two suitcases. Once this finished, the owner of the casino came out and congratulated Naruto.

"So son, how long have you been at the slots? One year, two years, maybe even three?"

Naruto looked blankly at the man; "About…" he looked at a clock, "10 minutes?"

The owner fainted thinking about all the money he had just lost. The man from the desk took over from there. About a minute later Naruto was happily skipping out of the casino with two suitcases stuffed with cash.

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That evening, Naruto met up with Ino at the hotel they were staying at. Heading up to their room Naruto recounted his day. After telling her of his miraculous winnings at the slot machine he spoke to her of seeing Tsunade of the Sannin.

"I saw an interesting person at the casino as well. It seems that she is Tsunade, the slug sannin."

Ino's brain began thinking, "Tsunade, the legendary medical genius?"

Naruto nodded.

The blonde girl kept talking, "I read your file Naruto, I know about your chakra coils and I saw the footnote that Hokage-sama placed about Tsunade being able to help you out. If we can find her, we could get her to fix you up!"

Eyes widening at the implication; his childhood dream could be indeed realized. He stood up, "Let's go find her right now."

He got a bop on the head for his efforts. "Not now you idiot! It's past dinnertime, that's way too late to go bother somebody."

Naruto sighed in frustration, he had waited 12 years for this, what's another day going to do? "Alright Yamanaka-san, we'll see her tomorrow then." He paused for a second, "You know what?"

Ino cocked her head slightly.

"You owe me one!" At this Ino's face scrunched up in confusion.

Naruto turned to face her completely; he had a grin on his face. "That night, when you were fighting Uchiha-san, I saved you."

Ino's face looked downcast. "So, in order to repay me, you have to do _one_ thing for me."

"And what might that be?" asked Ino.

Naruto had been waiting for such a response. His grin turned into a full blown smile, "Follow me. Quick."

They left the hotel room, walked up the stairs to the roof and sat down at the edge. The sun was just about to set and there was an orange purple glow emanating from it.

"I wanted to show you something, something that being a ninja probably took away from you." Naruto smiled at her, "I used to do this as a kid a lot, sitting on top of the Yondaime's head."

Ino looked inquisitively at Naruto, but he shook his head and pushed hers towards the sunset. "I always wanted to be the Hokage, so I'd be looking over my village in the setting sun. But when I realized that that would never come about, I would concentrate on the sun setting itself."

His voice held years of sorrow, "I saw the sun… _my_ sun setting that day. My dreams going down with it, but then Old Man Hokage found me and he told me something truly meaningful. The sun, he said, never truly sets, because somewhere else, it's just beginning to rise."

Ino sat with tears glistening in her eyes. "I know that losing Uchiha-san meant a lot to you, so I wanted to tell you that nothing is ever an opportunity lost, it's just the creation of a new one. Just like the end of the day is the mark of the beginning of a new one."

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The next day, the two set out to find where Tsunade had gone. They saw her eating at a restaurant and approached her.

Naruto kneeled, "Tsunade-sama."

The sannin looked down at him in surprise. Nobody had treated with such respect since the end of the last Great War! "What is it?"

Ino was standing a few steps behind where Naruto was kneeling and spoke up for him, "This is Uzumaki Naruto. The Hokage mentioned to us that you could help him with a problem of his."

Tsunade peered at her in between sips of sake. "And what might that… problem be?"

"My chakra coils are unusable. Due to… an unfortunate accident involving my… birth, my chakra coils have been unable to work. Old Man Hokage told me that you would be able to solve the problem." He kneeled all the way down so that his face was close to the floor, "Please, if you could, please help me."

"No." was the curt reply.

Ino was indignant, "No?!? He comes to you, kneeling, and begs for you to help him and all you can say is NO? Not even an explanation?"

"I'm in debt, I need money. You got money?" Tsunade drained a sake bottle.

Naruto stayed where he was, and from his position on the floor he asked, "How much money Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade mulled over this question, she wanted to make an outrageous offer so that these annoying Konoha brats would leave her alone.

"9 million ryo, to pay off my debts." She smiled smugly; surely this would force them to leave.

Naruto stood up. "Agreed."

Tsunade's jaw hit the floor. They agreed? What kind of clan was Uzumaki to throw that kind of money around?

Naruto walked calmly up to the sannin, "You'll catch flies with that. So when would you like to get the money?"

"Right now. If you don't have it with you, I'm leaving." Maybe this would work, maybe they were bluffing before.

Once again, Naruto agreed to the terms. Unraveling a scroll, he asked Ino to unseal it. Out popped two suitcases.

"I will give you half before the operation, and half after, to insure your goodwill."

Tsunade grumbled about rich snobby brats and was forced, by her _own_ terms to agree. Thinking quickly she shot out, "Aren't you already an adult? How're you going to learn to be a ninja if you're 10 years behind everyone else?"

Naruto smiled sweetly at her, "Oh, there's no problem at all, in fact, I wonder if I'll be able to _beat_ you after my operation?"

"You're on, you won't even be able to _touch_ me."

The blonde teen pondered this for a second, "Is this… a bet?"

"You bet your ass it is!" The sannin shot back.

Naruto replied, "I'll make the terms. So if I can land a hit on you, then I win. If I win, then I will still pay you for the operation but…" He looked at her, "…you'll have to give me that necklace."

Tsunade gasped then regained her composure, "Sure, go ahead, this necklace is cursed anyways. But you still won't be able to lay a finger on me."

Ino stepped in to pause the hostilities, "Save the arguments for later please." She looked from Naruto to Tsunade, "When will the operation be?"

"Any time, in fact, the sooner the better, because I want to lay this cocky bastard out."

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Later that day, Tsunade asked Shizune, "Hey Shizune, did you notice something?"

"Tsunade-sama, was I supposed to?"

"No, I was just wondering if you saw what I saw. That boy, Uzumaki, he's Minato's son."

Shizune stopped what she was doing, "Really?"

"Yeah, it's obvious just by his spunk. It's the same attitude that Minato had. Well, I feel an obligation to the man to beat some sense into his son, so tomorrow, right after the operation; I'm going to smash him through the floor." Tsunade gave a wide smile.

Shizune smacked herself in the forehead, how could a famed shinobi be so immature? As if reading her mind, TonTon squealed in agreement. Shizune smiled and petted her little pig.

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_The next day…_

Tsunade walked happily out of her makeshift hospital tent that she carried around in storage scrolls. In her hands were two large suitcases with enough money to pay all of her debts and then some. Depositing the suitcases at Shizune's feet, she cracked her knuckles. It was time to beat some sense into a friend's son. She had a shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

Naruto was still shaky from his operation, but he felt good enough to smack an old lady around, after all, that's what she was, wasn't she?

Ino and Shizune stood there staring at the two 'fighters' with looks of sheer embarrassment. Finally snapping out of her stupor, Ino waved her hand in the air signaling the fighters to ready up.

Giving one last frustrated sigh Ino called out, "Begin!"

The small dirt arena was all the two were allowed to fight on, to the owner's dismay, the small field would become a barren wasteland.

The two shinobi stared at each other, reading each other's movements, waiting for the first strike. Naruto silently pulled his swords from their sheaths. Tsunade clenched her fists in an unspoken reply.

'If my hypothesis is right, now that my chakra coils are fixed, a stimulus, such as a fight, will bring Itachi's jutsu repertoire flooding into my head.' Naruto smirked in satisfaction. He ran towards her with both his swords and began fighting.

Tsunade was struck by how well the ex-non-ninja handled his weapons. It was a completely ninja style but the boy, until 10 minutes ago, couldn't use chakra! It was no matter, she was a sannin. Carefully watching his movement, she cocked her fist and let a wild haymaker fly. Or at least that's what it looked like to everyone else. To Naruto, it was the perfect counter-attack to his – or rather Itachi's – style. Bringing his swords together in an X to block the attack he crouched low and spun on his heel to avoid the majority of the blow.

Tsunade, with practiced ease, let the chakra in her fist unleash and with a smile of satisfaction watched her opponent go flying away. He had put up a block that would've stopped most anybody else, but she reiterated to herself, she was a sannin. He might as well go suck his own balls. She smiled at the analogy; it didn't make sense, but she liked it.

Skidding backwards from the force of the blow, Naruto felt a little bit of information leak into his head. It dealt mostly with using chakra to move faster and to increase the strength of his attacks. He analyzed what Tsunade did. With pinpoint chakra control, she was able to release the chakra buildup in her fist to create the maximum strength attack. An idea popped into his head.

Couldn't he apply the same principle to his swords? They were ninjato and they could channel chakra. Using Itachi's chakra control and the information in his head, he could theoretically do the same thing. But knowing is different from doing, he would have to field test his theory, and what better time to do it than now? He gave a feral grin.

Giving a loud yell he felt the chakra from his body flow into his swords, they literally became an extension of his arms. Spinning and weaving through her jabs he reached a point where it was again his sword versus her fist. Feeling the climax of the chakra burst building up in his sword he impacted against her fist. Releasing at the split second both of them flew away equally hard.

Tsunade was astounded; this boy just copied her attack and reversed it for his weapon! He must be a genius. Using the split second lull in fighting to use that kind of maneuver was unimaginable. On the sidelines, Shizune and Ino were confused as well. They had seen another clash of sword and fist and were expecting Tsunade to come out on top, but what they got was an explosion that left a crater in the middle of the 'arena'.

Naruto got up shakily, small chakra burns covering his body. He smiled, it would take some practice to get the release perfect but he would deal with that later. Another idea formulated within his head, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. At the same time, Naruto performed one handed seals and whispered, "Kirigakure no Jutsu."

A small group of clones appeared around him, but was hidden by the mist. Everyone was once again shocked, Naruto gave another satisfied smile. All this information flowing through him made him feel… powerful. Sending some clones underground and others in a flanking motion surrounding the sannin he moved in for the kill. Then Tsunade did something that made Naruto pause. He sensed an immense buildup of chakra in her body, all over her body, covering every square inch of her, shrugging his shoulders; he sent his clones in to attack.

Two of them appeared from below ground and grabbed her ankles, keeping her planted to the ground. The other clones tackled her to the ground as the original walked up to her with his sword aimed at her neck. He smiled at his victory as his sword tapped her neck. Then Tsunade's eyes turned blue.

The explosion rocked the entire dirt field as debris went flying all over the place. The two onlookers had to shield their faces lest they be blinded and cut by the dirt and rocks. When the dust settled, Tsunade stood panting and there was nothing else. Naruto had apparently been vaporized by the chakra explosion. Tsunade grinned and plopped down when a hand shot out of the soil and grabbed her neck.

"Victory is mine." whispered Naruto's voice.

Naruto emerged from the ground and looked straight down at Tsunade. "Luckily for me, all of them were shadow clones."

"You really do suck at placing your bets." He gave her a smile and took the necklace from her neck and put it around his.

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**A/N: I was going to write more, started, but stopped. Second author's note in one chapter, wow. .**

**Well, this was a fairly uneventful chapter but it leads up to something **_**amazing**_** in the next one. Don't worry! Reviews please, I NEED feedback from you guys.**

**WordOfTheDay**


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